Sacramento -- Today, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that will bar the State of California from entering into contracts in excess of $100,000 with businesses and other entities that deny equal benefits to the same-sex spouses of their employees. The Equal Benefits bill (SB 117) was authored by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) and sponsored by Equality California.

"The state's tax dollars earned by hardworking Californians should not be invested in companies that unfairly discriminate against LGBT people and their families," said Roland Palencia, Executive Director of Equality California. "The Equal Benefits bill will ensure that the state does not enter into major contracts with companies that discriminate against same-sex couples. We are grateful to have Governor Brown and Senator Kehoe continuing the fight for the rights of all California workers."

Beginning in 1996 in San Francisco, Equality California's leadership has been working with city councils and the California legislature to pass equal benefits ordinances. Since then, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Berkeley, San Mateo County, San Diego and Santa Monica have adopted such ordinances. Other cities with similar ordinances include Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Miami Beach.

"Providing the same benefits to an employee with a domestic partner, or same-sex or opposite-sex spouse ensures that workers receive equal pay for equal work," said Senator Christine Kehoe. "California should lead the way for other employers to provide benefits that are non-discriminatory."

It is estimated that thousands of businesses and other entities now offer equal benefits as a direct result of these laws, including automobile companies, most airlines and many Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed more than 70 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org