Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (H.R. 1308)

This law was last updated on Dec 12, 2016

State

Federal

Number

H.R. 1308

Status

Current

Proposed

Mar 11, 1993

Topics

LGBTQ, Religious Freedom, RFRA

Full Bill Text

www.congress.gov

H.R. 1308 prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any state from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the 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.

“Exercise of religion’’ is defined to mean the exercise of religion under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

A person whose religious exercise has been burdened in violation of this Act may assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriate relief against a government.

STATUS

Signed by President Bill Clinton on November 16, 1993.

In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in City of Boerne v. Flores that RFRA is not applicable to the states.