According to the County Manager's Office, AB 17 is nearly identical (in the introduced form) to San Mateo County's domestic partner benefits ordinance. While AB 17 will not have a direct impact on the County, it has the potential to increase the number of contractors and vendors eligible to work with the County. The larger number and size of contracts with the state will likely encourage more contractors to provide domestic-partnered employees benefits similar to those offered to married employees. Anecdotal evidence suggests San Francisco's ordinance has had a similar effect of encouraging more companies to provide equal benefits to employees. In a November 27, 2002 memorandum to the Board of Supervisors, the County Manager reported a 97.7% compliance rate among the 1,561 contractors and vendors during the most recent review period (November 2001-October 2002). There were 36 equal benefits waivers. The most significant reason for waiving (50%) was that the contractor was the sole source. The second most prevalent waiver reason was for contracts part of a joint agreement, consortium or statewide cooperative/agreement. County staff believes that increasing the number of agencies requiring equal benefits will benefit the County by encouraging more contractors to provide such benefits and thereby increasing the pool of eligible contractors/vendors. The Legislative Committee recommends support for AB 17 (Kehoe). | 