Bill Text: TX SB1978 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to the protection of membership in, affiliation with, and support provided to religious organizations.

Sponsorship: Broadly Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2019-06-10 - Effective on 9/1/19 [SB1978 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB1978-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Hughes, Hall S.B. No. 1978
(In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2019; March 19, 2019, read
first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
May 13, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5,
Nays 1; May 13, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the protection of religious beliefs and moral
convictions, including beliefs and convictions regarding marriage.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 10, Government Code, is amended by adding
Subtitle H to read as follows:
SUBTITLE H. PROHIBITED ADVERSE ACTIONS BY GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 2400. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL
CONVICTIONS
Sec. 2400.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Adverse action" means any action taken by a
governmental entity to:
(A) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or
otherwise deny any grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative
agreement, loan, scholarship, license, registration,
accreditation, employment, or other similar status from or to a
person;
(B) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or
otherwise deny any benefit provided under a benefit program from or
to a person;
(C) alter in any way the tax treatment of, cause
any tax, penalty, or payment assessment against, or deny, delay, or
revoke a tax exemption of a person;
(D) disallow a tax deduction for any charitable
contribution made to or by a person;
(E) deny admission to, equal treatment in, or
eligibility for a degree from an educational program or institution
to a person; or
(F) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or
otherwise deny access to a property, educational institution,
speech forum, or charitable fund-raising campaign from or to a
person.
(2) "Benefit program" means any program administered
or funded by a governmental entity or federal agency that provides
assistance in the form of payments, grants, loans, or loan
guarantees.
(3) "Governmental entity" means:
(A) this state;
(B) a board, commission, council, department, or
other agency in the executive branch of state government that is
created by the state constitution or a statute, including an
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
Education Code;
(C) the legislature or a legislative agency;
(D) the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals, a state judicial agency, the State Bar of Texas,
or a court in this state;
(E) a political subdivision of this state,
including a county, municipality, or special district or authority;
or
(F) an officer, employee, or agent of an entity
described by Paragraphs (A)-(E).
(4) "Person" has the meaning assigned by Section
311.005, except the term does not include:
(A) an employee of a governmental entity acting
within the employee's scope of employment;
(B) a contractor of a governmental entity acting
within the scope of the contract; or
(C) an individual or a medical or residential
custodial health care facility while the individual or facility is
providing medically necessary services to prevent another
individual's death or imminent serious physical injury.
Sec. 2400.002. ADVERSE ACTION PROHIBITED. Notwithstanding
any other law, a governmental entity may not take any adverse action
against any person based wholly or partly on a person's belief or
action in accordance with the person's sincerely held religious
belief or moral conviction, including beliefs or convictions
regarding marriage.
Sec. 2400.003. RELIEF AVAILABLE. (a) A person may assert
an actual or threatened violation of Section 2400.002 as a claim or
defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and obtain:
(1) compensatory damages;
(2) injunctive relief;
(3) declaratory relief; and
(4) any other appropriate relief, including
reasonable attorney's fees.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a person may commence an
action under this section and relief may be granted regardless of
whether the person has sought or exhausted available administrative
remedies.
Sec. 2400.004. IMMUNITY WAIVED. A person who alleges a
violation of Section 2400.002 may sue the governmental entity for
the relief provided under Section 2400.003. Sovereign or
governmental immunity, as applicable, is waived and abolished to
the extent of liability for that relief.
Sec. 2400.005. ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION; INTERVENTION IN
PROCEEDING. (a) The attorney general may bring an action for
injunctive or declaratory relief against a governmental entity or
an officer or employee of a governmental entity to enforce
compliance with this chapter.
(b) This section may not be construed to deny, impair, or
otherwise affect any authority of the attorney general or a
governmental entity acting under other law to institute or
intervene in a proceeding.
(c) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in bringing, instituting, or intervening in an action
under this section, including court costs, reasonable attorney's
fees, reasonable investigative costs, witness fees, and deposition
expenses.
Sec. 2400.006. INTERPRETATION. (a) This chapter may not
be construed to preempt a state or federal law that is equally or
more protective of the free exercise of religious beliefs and moral
convictions or to narrow the meaning or application of a state or
federal law protecting the free exercise of religious beliefs and
moral convictions.
(b) This chapter may not be construed to prevent a
governmental entity from providing, either directly or through a
person who is not seeking protection under this chapter, any
benefit or service authorized under state or federal law.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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