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House Bill 1260, the Designated Beneficiaries bill, just passed second reading on the floor in the Colorado House. It has one more final vote in the House before it heads to the Senate. This bill will make it easier for unmarried people to designate whom they want to make medical and end-of-life decisions on their behalf. It gives these basic legal rights to any two people (two dudes, two gals, a dude and gal, a bro and sis, what-have-you) who go into their local County Clerk's office, fill out a form, and pay a small fee. We still need your help on the final vote. Click here to send a pre-written letter to your Representative urging a yes vote!
Press release below the jump. Broad Coalition Applauds Colorado State House for Vote in Favor of HB 1260, Designated Beneficiary Agreements[Denver] - A coalition of 24 organizations representing more than 150,000 Coloradans across the state today applauded the State House of Representatives for voting in favor of HB 1260, Designated Beneficiary Agreements. The bill will receive a final vote in the house on Tuesday morning and will then move on to the state senate. Designated beneficiary agreements provide a much-needed new tool for estate planning, giving Coloradans access to a low-cost and convenient method for making plans for end-of-life decisions, inheritance, and other protections related to health care and medical emergencies. "This bill helps a broad range of Coloradans. It protects seniors, those who cannot afford costly legal services for estate planning such as the working poor, as well as gay couples," said Rep. Mark Ferrandino, the bill's sponsor in the house. "This bill will help a large number of widows and widowers who would lose benefits such as social security if they married again," said Bob Epstein, president of the Colorado Senior Lobby. "This bill protects the benefits they spent a lifetime earning while giving them the ability to easily designate who makes their end-of-life and medical emergency decisions." Mindy Barton of Equal Rights Colorado added, "We are one step closer to allowing a broad range of people, including gays and lesbians, to provide for one another in times of medical emergency. We are proud of our state representatives for taking this important action on behalf of all Coloradans." Background: A coalition of 24 organizations is supporting this legislation. These organizations include: 1. 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women 2. ACLU of Colorado 3. The Anti-Defamation League 4. The ARC of Colorado 5. The Bell Policy Center 6. Citizens Project 7. Colorado ACORN 8. Colorado AIDS Project 9 Colorado Coalition of PFLAG Chapters 10. Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) 11. Colorado Progressive Coalition 12. Colorado Senior Lobby 13. Colorado Stonewall Democrats 14. Colorado Organizations Responding to AIDS (CORA) 15. Equal Rights Colorado 16. FRESC: Good Jobs, Strong Communities 17. The Gender Identity Center of Colorado 18. The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado 19. Lambda Community Center 20. Latina Initiative 21. New Era Colorado 22. People for the American Way 23. Progress Now Colorado 24. Women's Lobby of Colorado |