HB1615 Summary

• Amends Arkansas's Religious Freedom Restoration Act to strengthen protections for religious exercise by requiring government to demonstrate that burdens on religion are "essential to further" (rather than "in furtherance of") a compelling governmental interest and use the least restrictive means.

• Creates new "Religious Nondiscrimination" subchapter prohibiting state government from taking discriminatory actions against religious organizations based on their religious identity, beliefs, or conduct unless the action is essential to further a compelling governmental interest using the least restrictive means.

• Defines "discriminatory action" broadly to include altering tax treatment, denying grants or contracts, withholding benefits, imposing fines or penalties, denying licenses, and adverse employment actions based on religious beliefs including beliefs about biological sex or marriage.

• Expands definition of "exercise of religion" to include any action motivated by sincerely held religious belief, whether or not compulsory or central to a larger religious system, and extends protections to sole proprietorships, partnerships, closely held corporations, and cooperatives operating with sincerely held religious beliefs.

• Allows persons to assert religious liberty violations as claims or defenses in judicial or administrative proceedings without exhausting administrative remedies, permits recovery of declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and reasonable attorneys' fees, and waives sovereign and qualified immunities for equitable relief.