The law, proposed by Senator Margarita Percovich of the Broad Front, was passed in the Chamber of Representatives on November 29, 2007 after having been passed in a similar form in the Senate in 2006. The bill was passed by both chambers in the same form on December 19, and signed into law by President Tabaré Vázquez on December 27. It was published in the official journal on January 10, 2008 and came into effect on January 20. The first union was performed on April 17, 2008.