(Salem, Oregon) The Oregon House has passed legislation aimed at clarifying several sections of its domestic partner law that LGBT groups said were ambiguous or confusing.

Under the partnership law, couples who register are guaranteed the right to visit partners in the hospital and make medical decisions, file joint state tax returns, and have joint health insurance plans or take sick leave to care for their partners.

But a growing number of same-sex couples have complained the law was cobbled together and ended up causing problems.

“Oregon’s domestic partnership system creates a patchwork of protections for committed same-sex couples,” said Jeana Frazzini, Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon. 

There are three main revisions to the law. 

The first creates a uniform and streamlined process for domestic partners seeking a name change, updating this process to reflect the law for opposite-sex married couples.

The second provision clears up confusion for same-sex couples whose relationships are recognized as civil unions or marriages in other states. 

The third preserves a long-standing state practice related to taxation on employer-provided partner health care. 

State Rep. Tina Kotek (D) said that the existing law is “confusing and problematic not only for the couples but also for the agencies involved.”

The bill passed the House by a vote of 51 to 8 and moves to the state Senate for consideration.

The vote came after a gay man was kicked out of the hospital room of his sick partner earlier this month.

While the law allows registered domestic partners to visit one another in the hospital and make medical decisions, an uninformed nurse told the man he had to leave his partners’ bedside, just as end-of- life decisions came under discussion.

LGBT advocates said that the experience indicates that Oregon’s domestic partnership law is falling short of its promise.

“Can you imagine a nurse at our state’s premier teaching hospital telling a woman that she wasn’t allowed to visit her husband’s hospital room when he was on his death bed? This couple’s experience demonstrates all too well that Oregon’s domestic partnership systems falls far short of its promise. Without the honor and respect that comes with marriage, caring and committed couples have a long way to go before they experience equality,” said Frazzini.

The original domestic partner law was passed after a legal battle for gay marriage failed.

The issue of same-sex marriage in the state arose in March 2004 when Multnomah County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 

Soon after, the county was ordered to stop, but not before 3,000 marriage licenses had been granted. The constitutional amendment, known as Measure 36, was passed that November.