Written by Don Byrd
Updating a story I have been following, the Mississippi legislature has decided to act after all on a state RFRA law. A conference report between the Senate, which previously passed a version of RFRA unanimously, and the House, which more recently voted to send the bill back to committee for further study, amended the Senate version and was passed by both bodies earlier today. The bill now heads to the Governor for his signature.
Importantly, the amended version (pdf) added language that more closely mirrors the federal RFRA law, including the provision that only “substantial” burdens on a person’s religious exercise require the government’s justification. The Senate bill triggered that high standard for any burden.
For some helpful context on why state RFRAs are suddenly so controversial, the BJC’s Holly Hollman last month explained what happened in Arizona.
