PRINTER'S NO. 4218
No. 2792 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY VEON, S. H. SMITH, WANSACZ, GRUCELA, LEVDANSKY,
McILHATTAN, GEORGE, MANN, M. COHEN, LAUGHLIN, KIRKLAND,
STABACK, THOMAS, MAHER, TIGUE, HANNA, YOUNGBLOOD, JAMES,
YUDICHAK, WASHINGTON, KENNEY, MYERS, HERSHEY, PISTELLA,
GEIST, CAPPELLI, MELIO, J. WILLIAMS, PERZEL, HENNESSEY,
McCALL AND ADOLPH, JULY 9, 2002
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JULY 9, 2002
AN ACT
1 Protecting the free exercise of religion; and prescribing the
2 conditions under which government may substantially burden a
3 person's free exercise of religion.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Religious
8 Freedom Protection Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative findings.
10 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
11 (1) The Constitution of Pennsylvania recognizes that all
12 citizens of this Commonwealth have a natural and indefeasible
13 right to the free exercise and enjoyment of religion. It is
14 in the province of all branches of government to foster and
15 protect the free exercise of religion and to avoid violations
16 of religious liberties.
1 (2) Laws and government actions which are facially
2 neutral toward religion, as well as laws and governmental
3 actions which are intended to interfere with religious
4 exercise, may have the effect of burdening religious
5 exercise.
6 (3) Neither State nor local government should
7 substantially burden religious exercise without compelling
8 justification.
9 (4) The compelling interest test set forth in precedent
10 decisions of the United States Supreme Court prior to
11 Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon
12 v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), is a workable test for
13 striking sensible balances between religious liberty and
14 compelling government interests.
15 (5) The General Assembly intends to guarantee that a
16 test of a compelling interest should be imposed on all State
17 and local laws, ordinances and governmental actions in all
18 cases in which free exercise of religion is substantially
19 burdened by governmental action or threatened governmental
20 action.
21 (6) The General Assembly intends to provide a claim or
22 defense to persons whose exercise of religious freedom is or
23 will be substantially burdened by State or local government.
24 (7) The General Assembly intends that all statutes,
25 regulations, ordinances and resolutions shall be construed so
26 as to avoid the imposition of substantial burdens upon the
27 free exercise of religion without compelling justification.
28 Section 3. Definitions.
29 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
30 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
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1 context clearly indicates otherwise:
2 "Correctional employee." Any public official, employee,
3 agent, contractor or volunteer working for or providing services
4 relating to a correctional facility or its inmates.
5 "Demonstrates." Meets the burdens of going forward with the
6 evidence and the burden of persuasion.
7 "Exercise of religion." The practice or observance of
8 religion under Section 3 of Article I of the Constitution of
9 Pennsylvania.
10 "Government." The Commonwealth, including its administrative
11 departments, boards and commissions; and a political
12 subdivision; an instrumentality, or a public official.
13 "Person." Includes a corporation, partnership, other
14 association, church, religious institution, estate, trust,
15 foundation or natural person.
16 "Substantially burdens." Does any of the following:
17 (1) Significantly constrains or inhibits conduct or
18 expression mandated by a person's sincerely held religious
19 beliefs.
20 (2) Significantly curtails a person's ability to express
21 adherence to that person's religious faith.
22 (3) Denies a person a reasonable opportunity to engage
23 in those activities that are fundamental to that person's
24 religion.
25 (4) Compels conduct or expression which violates a
26 mandatory tenet of a person's religious faith.
27 Section 4. Free exercise of religion protected.
28 (a) General rule.--Government shall not substantially burden
29 a person's exercise of religion. This subsection includes a
30 burden which results from a rule of general applicability,
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1 except as provided in subsection (b).
2 (b) Exceptions.--Government may substantially burden a
3 person's exercise of religion only if the government
4 demonstrates that application of the burden to the person:
5 (1) is in furtherance of a compelling interest of the
6 government; and
7 (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that
8 compelling interest.
9 (c) Claim or defense.--A person whose exercise of religion
10 has been burdened or is about to be burdened in violation of
11 this section may assert that violation as a claim or defense in
12 any judicial or administrative proceeding against the government
13 and may obtain appropriate relief from a court.
14 Section 5. Applicability.
15 This act shall apply to any statute, regulation, ordinance or
16 resolution and its implementation. Any statute enacted after the
17 effective date of this act shall be subject to this act unless
18 the General Assembly expressly excludes that statute from this
19 act by specific reference to this act.
20 Section 6. Construction.
21 Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize a
22 government to prohibit or penalize the holding of a religious
23 belief or to take any action contrary to the Constitution of
24 Pennsylvania.
25 Section 7. Free exercise of religion by inmates of correctional
26 facilities.
27 With respect to claims or defenses asserted under this act by
28 inmates of State, county or municipal correctional facilities, a
29 government shall not be deemed to have violated the provisions
30 of this act if a rule, policy, action, omission or regulation of
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1 the correctional facility or its correctional employees is
2 reasonably related to legitimate penological interests,
3 including, deterrence of crime, prudent use of institutional
4 resources, rehabilitation of prisoners or institutional
5 security.
6 Section 20. Effective date.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
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