A year after launching domestic partnerships for same-sex couples (and senior citizen heterosexual couples), the state Senate this afternoon voted 29-20 to broaden the rights and responsibilities for such couples.

Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, called House Bill 3104 "an important step in giving financial equality and fairness to loving families."

The bill would allow couples to share a nursing home room, would protect them from being forced to testify against each other, and would allow them to share veterans' benefits, among many other things. It would also require elected officials to file campaign disclosure paperwork about a partner, the same as one would do regarding a spouse.

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