House Judiciary Committee hears SB 36, religious‑freedom bill; committee fails to advance measure after amendments

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing, legislators and more than two dozen witnesses debated Senate Bill 36, a proposed state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that would apply the federal RFRA’s strict‑scrutiny standard to state and local government actions.

Senator Seltzler, sponsor of Senate Bill 36, told the committee SB 36 “protects ordinary people from unfair state and local government intrusion by exactly mirroring the bipartisan federal law,” and described the measure as a legal fix to what he called a gap left by a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Why it matters: SB 36 would change the legal standard Georgia courts use when a person says a state or local government action substantially burdens their exercise of religion. Under current precedent cited to the committee, such claims are evaluated under a lower rational‑basis test at the state level. SB 36 would require government defendants to show a compelling interest and to use the least‑restrictive means when they impose a burden on religious exercise.

Committee testimony and positions

Supporters framed SB 36 as a narrow, legal remedy to equalize the standard of review. Lance Kinzer, an attorney with First Amendment Partnership, said the bill “matches the federal RFRA standard very carefully” and that experience in other states shows the law typically produces negotiated accommodations: “the best RFRA cases are the ones that never get brought because things do get…