Written by Don Byrd
A Mississippi House committee voted to approve a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act bill and send it to the full House for a vote, but not before approving an important amendment to the Senate version.
Like other RFRA bills, Mississippi’s would prohibit the state from substantially burdening a person’s religious exercise unless it is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest. The Senate version would require the state to reach that high standard for any burden on religious exercise. A House committee amendment this week, however, narrowed the bill’s focus to cover only *substantial burdens* on religious exercise, the threshold language used by the federal version of RFRA.
According to the Washington Post, the House could vote on the bill as early as today. Stay tuned.
