came into effect on 28 July 2019. While the law does not specifically mention same-sex couples, it provides a mechanism for same-sex couples to obtain equal visitation and medical decision-making rights to different-sex married couples, by appointing themselves as a "legal representative" through a public notary. Registered partnerships Registered partnerships (, ) have not been legislated for in Romania, despite several failed attempts in the past. Background On 23 February 2008, Péter Eckstein-Kovács, a parliamentarian from the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, proposed a bill to legalise registered partnerships, providing unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples a number of legal rights and benefits. He said that the current Family Code was "adopted more than fifty years ago and no longer reflected social realities, both in the case of homosexuals and heterosexuals". This marked the first time in Romania that a politician had explicitly supported registered partnerships for same-sex couples. The bill failed to pass. Eckstein-Kovács re-introduced a partnership bill on 23 July 2008. However, that bill died in the Senate following the 2008 election. A registered partnership bill was introduced by Viorel Arion from the Democratic Liberal Party in February 2011. It would have provided same-sex and opposite-sex couples with some of the rights of marriage. It received a favourable recommendation from the Legislative Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. However, the bill was opposed by the government, and ultimately failed to pass. Green Party bills In April 2013, MP Remus Cernea from the Green Party announced he would introduce a bill to grant same-sex couples the same rights as opposite-sex couples, prompting fierce reactions from opponents of the move. Among the most vehement reactions was from Senator Puiu Hașotti, who described homosexuals as "sick people" and "not natural", prompting a formal complaint by the organization ACCEPT to the National Council for Combating Discrimination. On 4 July 2013, Cernea introduced the bill to the Senate. A few months later, the Romanian Government issued a statement confirming it would not support the bill, and on 17 December 2013 the bill was rejected by the Senate by 110 votes to 2. On 13 March 2014, a judicial committee unanimously advised the Parliament to reject the proposal. On 11 June 2014, the bill was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies with 298 votes opposed to the bill, 4 in favor and 5 abstentions. On 31 March 2015, another civil union bill was rejected