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Ala.
Const. Amend. No. 622
Alabama
Religious Freedom Amendment
SECTION
I. The amendment shall be known as and may be cited as
the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment.
SECTION
II. The Legislature makes the following findings concerning
religious freedom:
(1) The
framers of the United States Constitution, recognizing free
exercise of religion as an unalienable right, secured its
protection in the First Amendment to the Constitution, and
the framers of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, also
recognizing this right, secured the protection of religious
freedom in Article I, Section 3.
(2) Federal
and state laws "neutral" toward religion may burden religious
exercise as surely as laws intended to interfere with religious
exercise.
(3) Governments
should not burden religious exercise without compelling
justification.
(4) In
Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
, the United States Supreme Court virtually eliminated the
requirement that the government justify burdens on religious
exercise imposed by laws neutral toward religion.
(5) The
compelling interest test as set forth in prior court rulings
is a workable test for striking sensible balances between
religious liberty and competing governmental interests in
areas ranging from public education (pedagogical interests
and religious rights, including recognizing regulations
necessary to alleviate interference with the educational
process versus rights of religious freedom) to national
defense (conscription and conscientious objection, including
the need to raise an army versus rights to object to individual
participation), and other areas of important mutual concern.
(6) Congress
passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C.,
§ 2000bb, to establish the compelling interest test
set forth in prior federal court rulings, but in City
of Boerne v. Flores, 117 S.Ct. 2157 (1997), the United
States Supreme Court held the act unconstitutional stating
that the right to regulate was retained by the states.
SECTION
III. The purpose of the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment
is to guarantee that the freedom of religion is not burdened
by state and local 1aw; and to provide a claim or defense
to persons whose religious freedom is burdened by government.
SECTION
IV. As used in this amendment, the following words shall
have the following meanings:
(1) Demonstrates.
Meets the burdens of going forward with the evidence and
of persuasion.
(2) Freedom
of religion. The free exercise of religion under Article
I, Section 3, of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901.
(3) Government.
Any branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official
(or other person acting under the color of law) of the State
of Alabama, any political subdivision of a state, municipality,
or other local government.
(4) Rule.
Any government statute, regulation, ordinance, administrative
provision, ruling guideline, requirement, or any statement
of law whatever.
SECTION
V. (a) Government shall not burden a person's freedom
of religion if the burden results from a rule of general
applicability, except as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Government
may burden a person's freedom of religion only if it demonstrates
that application of the burden to the person:
(1) Is
in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and
(2) Is
the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling
governmental interest.
(c) A
person whose religious freedom has been burdened in violation
of this section may assert that violation as a claim or
defense in a judicial, administrative, or other proceeding
and obtain appropriate relief against a government.
SECTION
VI. (a) This amendment applies to all government rules and
implementations thereof, whether statutory or otherwise,
and whether adopted before or after the effective date of
this amendment.
(b) Nothing
in this amendment shall be construed to authorize any government
to burden any religious belief.
(c) Nothing
in this amendment shall be construed to affect, interpret,
or in any way address those portions of the First Amendment
of the United States Constitution permitting the free exercise
of religion or prohibiting laws respecting the establishment
of religion, or those provisions of Article Section 3, of
the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, regarding the establishment
of religion.
SECTION
VII. (a) This amendment shall be liberally construed to
effectuate its remedial and deterrent purposes.
(b) If
any provision of this amendment or its application to any
particular person or circumstance is held invalid, that
provision or its application is severable and does not affect
the validity of other provisions or applications of this
amendment.
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