[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.
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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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