Although the state budget Gov. Jim Doyle proposed last week still has to pass the state Legislature, domestic partner benefits proposed in the Budget Address are already generating controversy and lawsuit threats.

In his address, Doyle proposed an extension of benefits, such as health care, for domestic partners that work for the state.

The extension of various protections for all domestic partners in the state, including hospital visitation rights and the ability to take a leave of absence from work, would be extended under the plan as well.

“This isn’t an issue of being gay or straight — we are not judging people’s lives here,” Doyle said in his budget address last week. “I don’t want the state to be less competitive at our university and other institutions because we don’t treat people fairly.”

According to Doyle spokesperson Carla Vigue, a statewide database would be set up where same-sex couples could register to receive some of the benefits that married couples in Wisconsin already enjoy.

Critics of the proposal argue it violates the state constitutional amendment passed in 2006 banning gay marriage.

“When you look at the language of the budget, it’s far different than the five sentences he said Tuesday night,” Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said. “[Doyle] created a statewide domestic partner registry and defined it in terms that sound very similar to marriage.”

Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said he agrees with Appling’s concerns and the proposal makes a moral judgment that will offend a lot of people in the state.

According to Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, speaking on behalf of a group of Republican lawmakers immediately following Doyle’s budget address Tuesday night, the state simply does not have money to extend benefits to same-sex couples with the budget shortfall the state is expected to face during the next two years.

Wisconsin Family Action has already contacted their attorneys, according to Appling, in an attempt to determine a proper legal course of action should the plan pass and be included in the budget.

Appling added that until then, the group plans to work with and lobby state lawmakers in an attempt to remove the proposal from the budget.

Supporters of the proposal, however, do not believe the constitutional amendment will be violated if the governor’s plan is passed into law.

“These are basic protections that over three-quarters of Wisconsinites agree a committed couple should have,” Katie Belanger, legislative director for Fair Wisconsin, said. “This is something Wisconsin is ready for.”

Belanger added the domestic partners would only receive about 43 of the 200 state protections and none of the federal protections guaranteed to married couples.

Fair Wisconsin also plans to work with lawmakers to educate them on the importance of protections and benefits for same-sex couples throughout the state.

“The governor understands that people, regardless of the merits, are going to question the proposal,” Vigue said. “It is constitutional, and we’re moving forward with the plan.”