[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1308 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1308

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

               To protect the free exercise of religion.






103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1308

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
               To protect the free exercise of religion.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds--
            (1) the framers of the American Constitution, recognizing 
        free exercise of religion as an unalienable right, secured its 
        protection in the First Amendment to the Constitution;
            (2) laws ``neutral'' toward religion may burden religious 
        exercise as surely as laws intended to interfere with religious 
        exercise;
            (3) governments should not burden religious exercise 
        without compelling justification;
            (4) in Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith the Supreme 
        Court virtually eliminated the requirement that the government 
        justify burdens on religious exercise imposed by laws neutral 
        toward religion; and
            (5) the compelling interest test as set forth in Sherbert 
        v. Verner and Wisconsin v. Yoder is a workable test for 
        striking sensible balances between religious liberty and 
        competing governmental interests.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to restore the compelling interest test as set forth in 
        Federal court cases before Employment Division of Oregon v. 
        Smith and to guarantee its application in all cases where free 
        exercise of religion is burdened; and
            (2) to provide a claim or defense to persons whose 
        religious exercise is burdened by government.

SEC. 3. FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION PROTECTED.

    (a) In General.--Government shall not burden a person's exercise of 
religion even if the burden results from a rule of general 
applicability, except as provided in subsection (b).
    (b) Exception.--Government may burden a person's exercise of 
religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the 
person--
            (1) furthers a compelling governmental interest; and
            (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that 
        compelling governmental interest.
    (c) Judicial Relief.--A person whose religious exercise has been 
burdened in violation of this section may assert that violation as a 
claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriate relief 
against a government. Standing to assert a claim or defense under this 
section shall be governed by the general rules of standing under 
article III of the Constitution.

SEC. 4. ATTORNEYS FEES.

    (a) Judicial Proceedings.--Section 722 of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988) is amended by inserting ``the 
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993,'' before ``or title VI of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964''.
    (b) Administrative Proceedings.--Section 504(b)(1)(C) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (ii);
            (2) by striking the semicolon at the end of clause (iii) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting ``(iv) the Religious Freedom Restoration 
        Act of 1993'' after clause (iii).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``government'' includes a branch, department, 
        agency, instrumentality, and official (or other person acting 
        under color of law) of the United States, a State, or a 
        subdivision of a State;
            (2) the term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, 
        the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each territory and 
        possession of the United States;
            (3) the term ``demonstrates'' means meets the burdens of 
        going forward with the evidence and of persuasion; and
            (4) the term ``exercise of religion'' means exercise of 
        religion under the first article of amendment to the 
        Constitution of the United States.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.

    (a) In General.--This Act applies to all Federal and State law, and 
the implementation of that law, whether statutory or otherwise, and 
whether adopted before or after the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Federal statutory law adopted after the 
date of the enactment of this Act is subject to this Act unless such 
law explicitly excludes such application by reference to this Act.
    (c) Religious Belief Unaffected.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to authorize any government to burden any religious belief.

SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE UNAFFECTED.

    (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect, 
interpret, or in any way address that portion of the First Amendment 
prohibiting laws respecting the establishment of religion. Granting 
government funding, benefits, or exemptions, to the extent permissible 
under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, shall not 
constitute a violation of this Act.
    (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``granting 
government funding, benefits, or exemptions'' does not include a denial 
of government funding, benefits, or exemptions.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 1993.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.