[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4019 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4019
To protect religious liberty.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 1998
Mr. Canady of Florida (for himself and Mr. Nadler) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect religious liberty.
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 Liberty Protection Act of
1998''.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS EXERCISE.
(a) General Rule.--Except as provided in subsection (b), a
government shall not substantially burden a person's religious
exercise--
(1) in a program or activity, operated by a government,
that receives Federal financial assistance; or
(2) in or affecting commerce with foreign nations, among
the several States, or with the Indian tribes;
even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.
(b) Exception.--A government may substantially burden a person's
religious exercise if the government demonstrates that application of
the burden to the person--
(1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental
interest; and
(2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that
compelling governmental interest.
(c) Funding Not Affected.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to authorize the United States to deny or withhold Federal
financial assistance as a remedy for a violation of this Act.
(d) State Policy Not Commandeered.--A government may eliminate the
substantial burden on religious exercise by changing the policy that
results in the burden, by retaining the policy and exempting the
religious exercise from that policy, or by any other means that
eliminates the burden.
(e) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``government'' means a branch, department,
agency, instrumentality, subdivision, or official of a State
(or other person acting under color of State law);
(2) the term ``program or activity'' means a program or
activity as defined in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 606 of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-4a); and
(3) the term ``demonstrates'' means meets the burdens of
going forward with the evidence and of persuasion.
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT OF THE FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE.
(a) Procedure.--If a claimant produces prima facie evidence to
support a claim of a violation of the Free Exercise Clause, the
government shall bear the burden of persuasion on all issues relating
to the claim, except any issue as to the existence of the burden on
religious exercise.
(b) Land Use Regulation.--
(1) Limitation on land use regulation.--No government shall
impose a land use regulation that--
(A) substantially burdens religious exercise,
unless the burden is the least restrictive means to
prevent substantial and tangible harm to neighboring
properties or to the public health or safety;
(B) denies religious assemblies a reasonable
location in the jurisdiction; or
(C) excludes religious assemblies from areas in
which nonreligious assemblies are permitted.
(2) Full faith and credit.--Adjudication of a claim of a
violation of this subsection in a non-Federal forum shall be
entitled to full faith and credit in a Federal court only if
the claimant had a full and fair adjudication of that claim in
the non-Federal forum.
(3) Nonpreemption.--Nothing in this subsection shall
preempt State law that is equally or more protective of
religious exercise.
(4) Nonapplication of other portions of this act.--Section
2 does not apply to land use regulation.
SEC. 4. JUDICIAL RELIEF.
(a) Cause of Action.--A person may assert a violation of this Act
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.
(b) Attorneys' Fees.--Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes (42
U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``the Religious Liberty Protection Act of
1998,'' after ``Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993,'';
and
(2) by striking the comma that follows a comma.
(c) Prisoners.--Any litigation under this Act in which the claimant
is a prisoner shall be subject to the Prison Litigation Reform Act of
1995 (including provisions of law amended by that Act).
(d) Liability of Governments.--
(1) Liability of states.--A State shall not be immune under
the 11th amendment to the Constitution from a civil action, for
a violation of the Free Exercise Clause under section 3,
including a civil action for money damages.
(2) Liability of the united states.--The United States
shall not be immune from a civil action, for a violation of the
Free Exercise Clause under section 3, including a civil action
for money damages.
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Religious Belief Unaffected.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to authorize any government to burden any religious belief.
(b) Religious Exercise Not Regulated.--Nothing in this Act shall
create any basis for regulation of religious exercise or for claims
against a religious organization, including any religiously affiliated
school or university, not acting under color of law.
(c) Claims to Funding Unaffected.--Nothing in this Act shall create
or preclude a right of any religious organization to receive funding or
other assistance from a government, or of any person to receive
government funding for a religious activity, but this Act may require
government to incur expenses in its own operations to avoid imposing a
burden or a substantial burden on religious exercise.
(d) Other Authority To Impose Conditions on Funding Unaffected.--
Nothing in this Act shall--
(1) authorize a government to regulate or affect, directly
or indirectly, the activities or policies of a person other
than a government as a condition of receiving funding or other
assistance; or
(2) restrict any authority that may exist under other law
to so regulate or affect, except as provided in this Act.
(e) Effect on Other Law.--Proof that a religious exercise affects
commerce for the purposes of this Act does not give rise to any
inference or presumption that the religious exercise is subject to any
other law regulating commerce.
(f) Severability.--If any provision of this Act or of an amendment
made by this Act, or any application of such provision to any person or
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this
Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the
provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.
SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE UNAFFECTED.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect, interpret, or in
any way address that portion of the first amendment to the Constitution
prohibiting laws respecting an establishment of religion (referred to
in this section as the ``Establishment Clause''). Granting government
funding, benefits, or exemptions, to the extent permissible under the
Establishment Clause, shall not constitute a violation of this Act. As
used in this section, the term ``granting'', used with respect to
government funding, benefits, or exemptions, does not include the
denial of government funding, benefits, or exemptions.
SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACT.
(a) Definitions.--Section 5 of the Religious Freedom Restoration
Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb-2) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a State, or subdivision
of a State'' and inserting ``a covered entity or a subdivision
of such an entity'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``term'' and all that
follows through ``includes'' and inserting ``term `covered
entity' means''; and
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking all after ``means,'' and
inserting ``an act or refusal to act that is substantially
motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the act or
refusal is compulsory or central to a larger system of
religious belief.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 6(a) of the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb-3(a)) is amended by striking
``and State''.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act--
(1) the term ``religious exercise'' means an act or refusal
to act that is substantially motivated by a religious belief,
whether or not the act or refusal is compulsory or central to a
larger system of religious belief;
(2) the term ``Free Exercise Clause'' means that portion of
the first amendment to the Constitution that proscribes laws
prohibiting the free exercise of religion and includes the
application of that proscription under the 14th amendment to
the Constitution; and
(3) except as otherwise provided in this Act, the term
``government'' means a branch, department, agency,
instrumentality, subdivision, or official of a State, or other
person acting under color of State law, or a branch,
department, agency, instrumentality, subdivision, or official
of the United States, or other person acting under color of
Federal law.
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