A bill has passed in the ISU Faculty Senate that will provide faculty health insurance for same-sex couples, but some members of the senate are concerned about the qualifications required to obtain the benefits.

“I did not object to the policy, but I did make the motion that the senate opposed the language used in the form,” said Jim Hutter, associate professor of political science.

The language outlining the health-insurance application originally was written in 1993, and while the bill passed with almost 3-to-1 support, some faculty members were concerned about the language used on the insurance-benefits forms.

“It basically said that the university has authorization, by a person applying, to ask anyone about their relationship,” Hutter said. “It’s absolutely outrageous.”

Mike Doran, associate professor of accounting, said because the state does not authorize same-sex marriages in any sort of legal document, the university must create its own rules for a same-sex couple’s insurance policy. He said the university provides the statements on the forms in order to prove there is a commitment between the two people without having a legal document.

While some faculty members said the language is overly intrusive, Doran emphasized that without a legal policy on same-sex commitments from the state, it makes it even harder to make a policy at a university.

Doran said the senate voted to pick up the same insurance cost for same-sex couples as for married couples working on the ISU faculty, and the policy is expected to be initiated at Iowa State soon.

“In the past, these people have been given insurance benefits, but had to pay for both sides,” he said. “This policy will extend health benefits to both same-sex couples with the university contributing the same amount as they would with married couples.”

The University of Iowa has approved and initiated the policy in recent years, and the state Board of Regents is now giving Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa the same policy option. This is one of the few times the regents have asked the Faculty Senate to vote on the policy, which has been active since 1993.

The proposal was introduced to ISU faculty members a month ago but was tabled until last week to give the senate time to investigate and discuss the proposal.

Max Wortman, distinguished professor of management, remained silent on the vote to adopt the policy.

“There will always be opposition on issues of this type,” he said. “The senate members feel strongly either one way or the other, but all faculty should be treated equally, regardless of race, color, sex, nation, creed or sexual orientation. It’s a question of fairness.”