Bill > A3766

Introduced Session

This bill would establish the "New Jersey Religious Freedom Restoration Act." The bill provides that a government entity shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless 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. A person whose religious exercise has been burdened in violation of the bill could assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriate relief. The prevailing plaintiff in an action or proceeding to enforce a provision of the bill would be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs to be paid by the government entity. The "compelling interest" test in the bill is a standard set forth in a number of United States Supreme Court decisions, including Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), and Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963). However, in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), the Supreme Court held that the states may enforce laws that have an incidental impact on religion. In response to the Smith decision, in 1993 Congress enacted the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. §2000bb et seq. This statute provides that, in cases where the free exercise of religion is affected, laws of general applicability must be narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest. The Supreme Court, in City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997), held that RFRA was invalid as applied to the states. In response, a number of states enacted their own state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts. To date, 21 states have enacted such statutes. This bill is modeled on the Florida version, Fla. Stat. s.761.01 et seq.

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Ronald Dancer (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee (on 03/16/2020)