[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7190-H7192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RELIGIOUS LAND USE AND INSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONS ACT OF 2000

  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take 
from the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2869) to protect religious 
liberty, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I will 
not object; but I ask the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) to 
explain the bill.
  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. NADLER. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. CANADY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New 
York for yielding.
  The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is a bill 
designed to protect the free exercise of religion from unnecessary 
governmental interference. The legislation

[[Page H7191]]

uses the recognized constitutional authority of the Congress to protect 
one of the most fundamental aspects of religious freedom, the right to 
gather and worship, and to protect the religious exercise of a class of 
people particularly vulnerable to government regulation, and that is 
institutionalized persons.
  While this bill does not fill the gap in the legal protections 
available to people of faith in every circumstance, it will provide 
critical protection in two important areas where the right to religious 
exercise is frequently infringed.
  I want to express my gratitude, especially to Senator Hatch and 
Senator Kennedy for their great effort over the last months in bringing 
this bill forward to passage today in the United States Senate. Without 
their efforts, obviously, we would have been unsuccessful in our 
ongoing efforts to protect religious liberty in America.
  This does not solve all of the problems that we had attempted to 
solve with the legislation that the House previously passed, but this 
is a very important step forward in the protection of religious liberty 
for all Americans.
  I must also express my deep gratitude to the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Nadler) for his cooperation and work on this piece of legislation. 
Without his effort we would not have been able to succeed in bringing 
this forward. I also wish to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Edwards) for his outstanding work on this important legislation.
  Finally, I would like to thank a member of the staff of the 
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Cathy Cleaver, for her long hours of 
hard work on this legislation.
  I would urge that the House proceed to passage of this bill.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
very glad to join my good friend from Florida in urging support for 
this bill.
  This is the third in a series of bills we have considered on the 
floor in the last 7 years to deal with some Supreme Court decisions 
from the early nineties. It is extremely important for the preservation 
of some of the free exercise protections of the Constitution, for the 
free exercise of religion. It is different, more narrow, than the 
Religious Liberty Protection Act we considered on the floor last year.
  That bill, as you may recall, had some people concerned with some 
civil rights implications. Those concerns have been allayed. They are 
not present in this bill. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and 
the American Civil Liberties Union, both of which had concerns about 
last year's bill, both support this bill. Every religious group that I 
am aware of supports this bill. I am aware of no opposition from any 
religious or civil rights or civil liberties group, and I am very glad 
to participate finally in passing this bill and sending it on to the 
President.
  I want to join the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) in thanking 
Senators Kennedy and Hatch for their work. I want to thank the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady) for his valuable work and 
leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I want to thank the 
staff of the Committee on the Judiciary. I want to thank the gentleman 
from Texas, (Mr. Edwards), who joins me as the lead Democratic sponsor 
of the bill and has been a staunch supporter of religious liberty.
  I particularly want to thank a member of the committee staff on the 
minority side, David Lachmann, who worked on this issue when he was on 
my staff, when he was on Congressman Solarz' staff before I was here, 
and since he has been on the committee staff, and without whose efforts 
we probably would not be here today.
  So I am very glad this is here today. I am glad one of the last 
things we do before our recess is to reaffirm the commitment of the 
Congress to religious liberty and send this on to the President. Again, 
I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I certainly am very happy to withdraw my reservation of 
objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 2869

       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 Land Use and 
     Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000''.

     SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF LAND USE AS RELIGIOUS EXERCISE.

       (a) Substantial Burdens.--
       (1) General rule.--No government shall impose or implement 
     a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial 
     burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a 
     religious assembly or institution, unless the government 
     demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person, 
     assembly, or institution--
       (A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental 
     interest; and
       (B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that 
     compelling governmental interest.
       (2) Scope of application.--This subsection applies in any 
     case in which--
       (A) the substantial burden is imposed in a program or 
     activity that receives Federal financial assistance, even if 
     the burden results from a rule of general applicability;
       (B) the substantial burden affects, or removal of that 
     substantial burden would affect, commerce with foreign 
     nations, among the several States, or with Indian tribes, 
     even if the burden results from a rule of general 
     applicability; or
       (C) the substantial burden is imposed in the implementation 
     of a land use regulation or system of land use regulations, 
     under which a government makes, or has in place formal or 
     informal procedures or practices that permit the government 
     to make, individualized assessments of the proposed uses for 
     the property involved.
       (b) Discrimination and Exclusion.--
       (1) Equal terms.--No government shall impose or implement a 
     land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious 
     assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a 
     nonreligious assembly or institution.
       (2) Nondiscrimination.--No government shall impose or 
     implement a land use regulation that discriminates against 
     any assembly or institution on the basis of religion or 
     religious denomination.
       (3) Exclusions and limits.--No government shall impose or 
     implement a land use regulation that--
       (A) totally excludes religious assemblies from a 
     jurisdiction; or
       (B) unreasonably limits religious assemblies, institutions, 
     or structures within a jurisdiction.

     SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS EXERCISE OF INSTITUTIONALIZED 
                   PERSONS.

       (a) General Rule.--No government shall impose a substantial 
     burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or 
     confined to an institution, as defined in section 2 of the 
     Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1997), even if the burden results from a rule of general 
     applicability, unless the government demonstrates that 
     imposition of the burden on that person--
       (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental 
     interest; and
       (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that 
     compelling governmental interest.
       (b) Scope of Application.--This section applies in any case 
     in which--
       (1) the substantial burden is imposed in a program or 
     activity that receives Federal financial assistance; or
       (2) the substantial burden affects, or removal of that 
     substantial burden would affect, commerce with foreign 
     nations, among the several States, or with Indian tribes.

     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) Burden of Persuasion.--If a plaintiff produces prima 
     facie evidence to support a claim alleging a violation of the 
     Free Exercise Clause or a violation of section 2, the 
     government shall bear the burden of persuasion on any element 
     of the claim, except that the plaintiff shall bear the burden 
     of persuasion on whether the law (including a regulation) or 
     government practice that is challenged by the claim 
     substantially burdens the plaintiff's exercise of religion.
       (c) Full Faith and Credit.--Adjudication of a claim of a 
     violation of section 2 in a non-Federal forum shall not be 
     entitled to full faith and credit in a Federal court unless 
     the claimant had a full and fair adjudication of that claim 
     in the non-Federal forum.
       (d) Attorneys' Fees.--Section 722(b) of the Revised 
     Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``the Religious Land Use and 
     Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,'' after ``Religious 
     Freedom Restoration Act of 1993,''; and
       (2) by striking the comma that follows a comma.
       (e) Prisoners.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
     amend or repeal the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 
     (including provisions of law amended by that Act).
       (f) Authority of United States To Enforce This Act.--The 
     United States may bring an action for injunctive or 
     declaratory relief to enforce compliance with this Act.

[[Page H7192]]

     Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to deny, 
     impair, or otherwise affect any right or authority of the 
     Attorney General, the United States, or any agency, officer, 
     or employee of the United States, acting under any law other 
     than this subsection, to institute or intervene in any 
     proceeding.
       (g) Limitation.--If the only jurisdictional basis for 
     applying a provision of this Act is a claim that a 
     substantial burden by a government on religious exercise 
     affects, or that removal of that substantial burden would 
     affect, commerce with foreign nations, among the several 
     States, or with Indian tribes, the provision shall not apply 
     if the government demonstrates that all substantial burdens 
     on, or the removal of all substantial burdens from, similar 
     religious exercise throughout the Nation would not lead in 
     the aggregate to a substantial effect on commerce with 
     foreign nations, among the several States, or with Indian 
     tribes.

     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 restricting or burdening 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 a 
     government to incur expenses in its own operations to avoid 
     imposing 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) Governmental Discretion in Alleviating Burdens on 
     Religious Exercise.--A government may avoid the preemptive 
     force of any provision of this Act by changing the policy or 
     practice that results in a substantial burden on religious 
     exercise, by retaining the policy or practice and exempting 
     the substantially burdened religious exercise, by providing 
     exemptions from the policy or practice for applications that 
     substantially burden religious exercise, or by any other 
     means that eliminates the substantial burden.
       (f) Effect on Other Law.--With respect to a claim brought 
     under this Act, proof that a substantial burden on a person's 
     religious exercise affects, or removal of that burden would 
     affect, commerce with foreign nations, among the several 
     States, or with Indian tribes, shall not establish any 
     inference or presumption that Congress intends that any 
     religious exercise is, or is not, subject to any law other 
     than this Act.
       (g) Broad Construction.--This Act shall be construed in 
     favor of a broad protection of religious exercise, to the 
     maximum extent permitted by the terms of this Act and the 
     Constitution.
       (h) No Preemption or Repeal.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
     construed to preempt State law, or repeal Federal law, that 
     is equally as protective of religious exercise as, or more 
     protective of religious exercise than, this Act.
       (i) 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. 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 a 
     subdivision of a State'' and inserting ``or of a covered 
     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 ``religious exercise, as defined in section 8 of 
     the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 
     2000.''.
       (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.

       In this Act:
       (1) Claimant.--The term ``claimant'' means a person raising 
     a claim or defense under this Act.
       (2) Demonstrates.--The term ``demonstrates'' means meets 
     the burdens of going forward with the evidence and of 
     persuasion.
       (3) Free exercise clause.--The term ``Free Exercise 
     Clause'' means that portion of the first amendment to the 
     Constitution that proscribes laws prohibiting the free 
     exercise of religion.
       (4) Government.--The term ``govern- ment''--
       (A) means--
       (i) a State, county, municipality, or other governmental 
     entity created under the authority of a State;
       (ii) any branch, department, agency, instrumentality, or 
     official of an entity listed in clause (i); and
       (iii) any other person acting under color of State law; and
       (B) for the purposes of sections 4(b) and 5, includes the 
     United States, a branch, department, agency, instrumentality, 
     or official of the United States, and any other person acting 
     under color of Federal law.
       (5) Land use regulation.--The term ``land use regulation'' 
     means a zoning or landmarking law, or the application of such 
     a law, that limits or restricts a claimant's use or 
     development of land (including a structure affixed to land), 
     if the claimant has an ownership, leasehold, easement, 
     servitude, or other property interest in the regulated land 
     or a contract or option to acquire such an interest.
       (6) Program or activity.--The term ``program or activity'' 
     means all of the operations of any entity as described in 
     paragraph (1) or (2) of section 606 of the Civil Rights Act 
     of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-4a).
       (7) Religious exercise.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``religious exercise'' includes 
     any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or 
     central to, a system of religious belief.
       (B) Rule.--The use, building, or conversion of real 
     property for the purpose of religious exercise shall be 
     considered to be religious exercise of the person or entity 
     that uses or intends to use the property for that purpose.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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