RLUIPA.org
Background
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was passed by Congress on July 27, 2000, and was signed by President Clinton on September 22, 2000. Its language was drawn from a similar bill (the "Religious Liberty Protection Act") offered in Congress in 1998 and again in 1999.
The following documents will provide the reader/researcher with detailed additional information about the law:
- The full text of The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
- President Clinton's statement upon signing the law, September 22, 2000
- All Bill Summary & Status Info: House, Senate
- Bill Status: House, Senate
- Cosponsors: House, Senate
- Legislative History: House (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Bill Report 106-219), Senate
- Hearings:
- The Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on May 12, 1999, on HR 1691 ("Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1999"); on June 16 and July 14, 1998 on HR 4019 ("Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1998"); and a series of hearings on July 14, 1997, February 26, 1998 and on March 26, 1998 ("Protecting Religious Freedom After City of Boerne v. Flores") The committee also held an earlier, more general hearing, on July 23, 1996 ("Legislation to Further Protect Religious Freedom"). In 1995, the subcommittee held a series of field hearings on "Religious Liberty and the Bill of Rights" on June 8, June 10, June 23, July 10 and July 14.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on June 23 and September 9, 1999 on "Issues Relating to Religious Liberty Protection, and Focusing on the Constitutionality of a Religious Protection Measure." (U.S. Government Printing Office document 67-066.)
- The Senate Judiciary Committee website offers the prepared statements of Senators and witnesses at both the June 23, 1999 hearing and the September 9, 1999 hearing, but the site does not appear to be well maintained. The better option is probably to access the full transcript contained in the GPO document referenced above even though the file sizes are very large and they will take quite a while to download on a dialup connection.
- On June 23, 1998, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on S.2148, the "Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1998," which, with modifications, later became RLUIPA. The Committee web site posts the prepared statements of Senators and witnesses at the hearing.
- On October 1, 1997, the Senate Judiciary Committee also held oversight hearings on "Congress' constitutional role in protecting religious liberty in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in the case of City of Boerne v. Flores," but the committee web site provides only the list of witnesses.