§ 16-1648 — PROHIBITION ON RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Adoption or foster care" or "adoption or foster care services" means social services provided to or on behalf of children, including services:
(i) Promoting foster parenting;
(ii) Providing foster homes, residential care, group homes, or temporary group shelters for children;
(iii) Recruiting foster parents;
(iv) Placing children in foster homes;
(v) Licensing or certifying foster homes;
(vi) Promoting adoption or recruiting adoptive parents;
(vii) Assisting adoptions or supporting adoptive families;
(viii) Performing or assisting home studies;
(ix) Assisting kinship guardianships or kinship caregivers;
(x) Providing family support services; and
(xi) Providing temporary family reunification services.
(b) "Discriminatory action" means any action taken by the state government to:
(i) Alter in any way the tax treatment of, or cause any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or deny, delay, revoke, or otherwise make unavailable an exemption from taxation of any person referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
(ii) Disallow, deny, or otherwise make unavailable a deduction for state tax purposes of any charitable contribution made to or by any person referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
(iii) Withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, materially alter the terms or conditions of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny any state grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, guarantee, loan, scholarship, or other similar benefit from or to any person referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
(iv) Withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, adversely alter the terms or conditions of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny any entitlement or benefit under a state benefit program from or to any person referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
(v) Impose, levy, or assess a monetary fine, fee, penalty, damages award, or injunction;
(vi) Withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, materially alter the terms or conditions of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny any license, certification, accreditation, custody award or agreement, diploma, grade, recognition, or other similar benefit, position, or status from or to any person; or
(vii) Refuse to hire or promote, force to resign, terminate, demote, sanction, discipline, adversely alter the terms or conditions of employment of, or retaliate or take other adverse employment action against a person employed or commissioned by the state government.
(c) "State benefit program" means any program administered, controlled, or funded by the state, or by any agent on behalf of the state, providing cash, payments, grants, contracts, loans, or in-kind assistance.
(d) "State government" means:
(i) The state or a political subdivision of the state;
(ii) Any agency of the state or of a political subdivision of the state, including a department, bureau, board, commission, council, or court;
(iii) Any city, county, urban county government, charter county government, unified local government, consolidated local government, special district, or any combination thereof;
(iv) Any person acting under color of state law; and
(v) Any private person suing under or attempting to enforce a law, rule, or regulation adopted by the state or a political subdivision of the state.
(2) The state government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person that advertises, provides, or facilitates adoption or foster care services wholly or partially on the basis that the person has provided or declined to provide any adoption or foster care service or related service based on or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief.
(3) The state government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person who the state grants custody of a foster or adoptive child wholly or partially on the basis that the person guides, instructs, or raises a child, or intends to guide, instruct, or raise a child, based on or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief. The state government may consider whether a person shares the same religious or faith tradition as a foster or adoptive child when considering placement of the child in order to prioritize placement with a person of the same religious or faith tradition.
(4) The state government shall consider any person as accredited, licensed, or certified who would otherwise be accredited, licensed, or certified, respectively, for any purposes under state law if not for a determination against such person wholly or partially on the basis that the person believes, maintains policies and procedures, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief.
(5) The state government shall consider any person for a contract, grant, or agreement that would otherwise be considered for a contract, grant, or agreement if not for a determination against such person wholly or partially on the basis that the person believes, maintains policies and procedures, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief.
(6) A person may assert a violation of the provisions of this section as a claim against the state government in any judicial or administrative proceeding or as a defense in any judicial or administrative proceeding without regard to whether the proceeding is brought by or in the name of the state government, any private person, or any other party.
(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an action under this section may be commenced, and relief may be granted, without regard to whether the person commencing the action has sought or exhausted available administrative remedies.
(8) A person shall bring an action to assert a claim under this section no later than two (2) years after the date that the person knew or should have known that a discriminatory action was taken against that person.
(9) Any person who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this section may recover:
(a) Declaratory relief;
(b) Injunctive relief to prevent or remedy a violation of this section or the effects of such a violation;
(c) Compensatory damages;
(d) Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and
(e) Any other appropriate relief, except that declaratory relief and injunctive relief shall be available against a private person not acting under color of state law upon a successful assertion of a defense under this section.
(10) Sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunities to suit and from liability are waived and abolished to the extent of liability pursuant to subsection (9) of this section, and a person may sue the state government, except state courts, for damages allowed pursuant to subsection (9) of this section.

Legislative History

[16-1648, added 2024, ch. 166, sec. 2, p. 632.]