Two Arkansas Senate committees Tuesday advanced religion-related bills: one to place a Ten Commandments monument near the Capitol and another to expand protections for religious objectors.
In a voice vote, the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee recommended approval of Senate Bill 939 by Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, which would require the secretary of state to arrange for the monument to be designed, constructed and placed on the state Capitol grounds by private entities at no expense to the state.
The bill goes to the 34-member Senate, where it has 15 co-sponsors beyond Rapert.
Rapert said the Capitol grounds has several monuments and "We have room for many more, and we don't have anything in particular that honored that aspect of the moral foundation of American law.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to install a monument that is basically identical to the one that is in Texas and Oklahoma. Nobody is required to look at it. Nobody is required to read it," he said.
Rapert said he'll suggest forming an entity to raise money for the monument.
But state Sen. David Johnson, D-Little Rock, said he voted against the bill because "I believe in the separation of church and state, and erecting a monument of the Ten Commandments and only the Ten Commandments is too overt [an] expression of religion and a violation of the Constitution."
Rapert disagreed. "We have depictions of the Ten Commandments in courthouses and public grounds all around the country, and this thing would be a nice addition. There are monuments on our Capitol grounds now that some people object to," he said.
The Oklahoma Legislature passed a similar law in 2009 that has been upheld by a judge in Oklahoma, he said.
In the event that the legality or constitutionality of the monument is challenged in court, the attorney general may prepare or present a legal defense of the monument or request the Liberty Institute prepare and present a legal defense of the monument, according to the bill.
The Liberty Institute is the "largest legal organization in America dedicated solely to defending and preserving religious liberty in America," according to its website.
"The placement of the monument ... shall not be construed to mean that the state of Arkansas favors any particular religion or denomination over others," the bill states.
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, in a 5-4 ruling, the constitutionality of the Texas Ten Commandments display. Similar displays in Kentucky, far newer than the Texas monument, were struck down.
Although the state agencies committee discussed the Ten Commandments on Tuesday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee focused on religious liberty on Tuesday night.
That committee recommended Senate approval of House Bill 1228, which is aimed at improving protections for religious objectors.
Known as the Conscience Protection Act, the bill, by Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, would offer a legal defense to Arkansans against laws or policies by state or local governments that "substantially burden" their rights to the exercise of religion.
Ballinger said the bill would not open the door to a wave of people claiming religious exemptions to laws and ordinances. Instead, he said, it would require lawmakers and policymakers to think twice about certain actions.
To quash a religious objection, the government would have to demonstrate a compelling interest and ensure that it as as unrestrictive as possible, he said.
Ballinger said the bill was not about protecting discrimination against gays and lesbians in the state, but some Democrats on the committee said they were concerned that that's exactly would the bill would do.
A co-sponsor -- and author of a law that would prohibit counties and cities from enacting their own discrimination policies -- Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, told the committee that tweaks to the language got support from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had voiced doubts about the bill earlier, as well as the Arkansas Municipal League.
But John Wilkerson, an attorney for the Arkansas Municipal League, said his organization was still opposed to the bill and that it would create many unforeseen legal troubles.
Hester and Ballinger said they were mistaken and that it was the Association of Arkansas Counties that had softened its opposition.
Then, Chris Villines, the director of the counties group, told legislators that was not the case and that it was still opposed to it.
Despite the opposition, the committee endorsed the bill in a 5-3 vote. State Sen. David Burnett, D-Osceola, joined the committee's four Republicans in voting for it, while the other three Democrats on the committee voted against it.
HB1228 now goes to the Senate.
Metro on 03/25/2015