Arkansas Governor Signs Revised 'Religious Freedom' Act

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed into law a revised version of his state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, after asking lawmakers to amend an earlier version so that it more closely mirrored similar federal legislation.

Hutchinson signed Senate Bill 975 into law Thursday afternoon, just hours after the updated bill passed out of the state House by a vote of 76-17, according to local TV station KHBS.

Numerous outlets report that SB 975 was hastily drafted as an updated version of SB 1228, a more broad bill claiming to protect "religious freedom" that many worried would amount to a "license to discriminate." 

The legislation as signed into law by the governor takes effect immediately. As with similar legislation — including the federal RFRA, enacted by President Clinton in 1993 — the Arkansas law does not mention sexual orientation or gender identity explicitly. 

Unlike the earlier version presented to the governor Monday, the new law seems to limit the scope of who can file a claim alleging that their "free exercise of religion" has been "substantially burdened" to religious organizations or institutions which can demonstrate that the government has hindered their ability to practice their faith. The legislation as passed does not appear to apply to private or for-profit businesses or to individual actors, as SB 1228 did. 

The legislation does include an "emergency clause," which states that the General Assembly has determined "that there is not a higher protection offered by the state than the protection of a person's right to religious freedom; and that this act is immediately necessary because every day that a person's right to religious freedom is threatened is a day that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is compromised." 

The author of SB 1228, Rep. Bob Ballinger, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he thought his initial bill was "really good," but ultimately supported the passage of SB975, which he said is "essentially the Federal RFRA."

"What we've done is Arkansas-ized it I guess and made apply to Arkansas code," Ballinger told the Democrat-Gazette. "The misconceptions and confusion about [HB1228] have caused enough problems that we thought we'd go back to the drawing board. … Go back to the essential purpose of bill to get a strict scrutiny standard. Our citizens when we're done are going to be protected."

Because the original RFRA was passed by both chambers of the state legislature and is still sitting on Gov. Hutchinson's desk, it could technically still become law. If the governor does not veto or sign the bill within five days of it arriving at his desk, it automatically becomes law. That's what happened with a bill essentially banning localities from passing LGBT nondiscrimination protections. The governor took no action on the bill — which invalidates any local ordinances that protect against discrimination on grounds not listed in statewide law — so it became law in February. Because Arkansas's statewide nondiscrimination laws do not include protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the new law effectively prohibits cities and towns from electing to protect their LGBT citizens from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.