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The Michigan Capitol in downtown Lansing.
(Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com)
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which made it through the Republican-led House during last year's lame-duck session but did not reach the governor's desk, has returned in the Senate.
State Sen. Mike Shirkey, who voted for the original measure as a representative, began the new legislative session by introducing a similar bill in the upper chamber this week.
“It’s simply about protecting the rights that the constitution provides for all citizens, not just select groups of citizens,” Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said Thursday.
The state RFRA, modeled after a federal version, would allow individuals or businesses to seek exemptions to government regulations they feel may substantially burden their sincerely held religious beliefs.
Critics who opposed the bill last year called it a "license to discriminate" against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individuals, a charge that supporters denied before a straight party-line vote in the House.
Former House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, introduced RFRA legislation last year alongside a separate bill that would have expanded the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Bolger said at the time that he wanted to “strike a balance” between protecting individual rights and defending religious liberty, but the non-discrimination bill stalled in committee due to a dispute over protecting transgender residents.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, in his State of the State address on Tuesday, encouraged lawmakers to continue discussing Elliott-Larsen and show "we can deal with the issues of discrimination in our state." He made no mention of the religious freedom bill.
Shirkey said "the two issues are separate and distinct and should be handled that way," but he said he was not afraid to debate either issue. He also noted that the U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider suits challenging gay marriage bans in Michigan and other states, making the RFRA bill even more relevant.
“I was a strong believer in it before, this is just another reason why it’s going to be more and more important," Shirkey said.
It’s not immediately clear whether the new RFRA proposal will have any legs, but last year's House vote suggests it could win enough votes if brought to the floor of the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said Tuesday that a religious freedom bill would be "the wrong thing" for Republicans to focus on in the new session.
“I’m hopeful that they'll realize we need to be finding solutions that help real Michigan families, not pandering to ideologues within each of our parties," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, has identified other top priorities and is expected to unveil a formal caucus action plan in coming weeks. But asked Thursday about the RFRA bill and another controversial measure that would eliminate straight-ticket voting, he didn’t rule anything out.
“They’ll be assigned to committee and given their due opportunity to have discussion,” Meekhof said. “I think that there’s not an agreement in all of our caucuses on how those should be handled, or if they should and what is the timing of them.”
Shirkey’s RFRA bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee chaired by Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, who indicated that it could come up later in the 2015-16 session.
“I can’t get everything on the agenda," Jones said, "but I think we’ll eventually look at that.”
Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.