Religious Freedom Reformation Act!!
chicken@astro.UMD.EDU
23 Nov 1993 00:31:03
103RD CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H.R. 1308
To protect the free exercise of religion.
_______________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 1993
[signers]
Mr. McKeon, and Mr. Gallo introduced the following bill, which
was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
_______________________________________________________
A BILL
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 substantially
burden
religious exercise as surely as laws intended to interfere
with
religious exercise;
(3) governments should not substantially 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 substantially burdened; and
(2) to provide a claim or defense to persons whose
religious
exercise is substantially burdened by government.
SEC. 3. FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION PROTECTED.
(a) In General.--Government shall not substantially 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
substantially 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 1933,'' 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
1933'' 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 substantially 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.
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