After
passage by the state Senate last month, on Monday the Arizona House of Representatives passed and sent to the governor for her signature
SB 1288, a broad bill protecting against basing denial of occupational licenses or positions on public bodies based on a person's exercise of religion. The bill provides:
A. Government shall not deny, suspend or revoke a professional or occupational license, certificate or registration based on a person's exercise of religion.
B. Government shall not deny, suspend or revoke a professional or occupational license, certificate or registration based on a person's refusal to affirm a statement that is contrary to the person's sincerely held moral or religious beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are specifically espoused by a recognized church or religious body.
C. A person's exercise of religion is not unprofessional conduct.
D. Government shall not deny a person a position on a board, commission, committee or public body based on the person's religious beliefs or exercise of religion.
E. This section does not authorize any person to engage in sexual misconduct or any criminal conduct.
F. For purposes of this section ... "sexual misconduct" means any sexual conduct proscribed by the person's licensing board or agency. Sexual misconduct does not include religious expression or beliefs.
Yesterday's
Verde Independent sets out examples given by legislators of situations at which the bill is directed. In 2008, the State Bar of Arizona proposed adding "sexual orientation" to an oath taken by lawyers that they will not permit "considerations of gender, race, age, nationality, disability or social standing to influence my duty of care." In Minnesota, license issues were raised when Muslim cab drivers refused to transport. passengers carrying alcohol.
