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Hutchinson Seeks HB1228 Recall, Wants Law to Mirror Federal RFRA

4 min read

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday called for changes to a religious objection measure facing a backlash from businesses and gay rights groups, saying it wasn’t intended to sanction discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Republican governor said he wants changes to the bill that lawmakers sent him prohibiting state and local government from infringing upon someone’s religious beliefs without a compelling interest. Hutchinson said he wants the Legislature to either recall the bill or pass a follow-up measure to make the proposal more closely mirror a 1993 federal religious freedom law.

“What is important from an Arkansas standpoint is one, we get the right balance and secondly, we make sure that we communicate we’re not going to be a state that fails to recognize the diversity of our workplace, our economy and our future,” Hutchinson said at a news conference at the state Capitol.

Hutchinson initially supported the bill and on Tuesday his office had said he planned to sign it into law.


The move comes after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a similar measure into law last week. Pence this week said he wants follow-up legislation to address concerns that the law allows businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

Hutchinson didn’t specifically call for changes that would prohibit the law from being used to deny services to someone, but said he didn’t believe the bill was intended to do so.

“This law that is under consideration does not extend discrimination,” Hutchinson said.

Similar proposals have been introduced in more than a dozen states, patterned after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Nineteen other states have similar laws on the books.

Echoing the reaction to Indiana’s law, Hutchinson has faced pressure from the state’s top employers, including retail giant Wal-Mart, which complained that the measure was discriminatory and would stifle economic development. Little Rock’s mayor, the city’s Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas-based data services company Acxiom all urged the governor to reject the measure in recent days.


The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group, has run ads in Silicon Valley targeting technology firms Hutchinson hopes to attract to the state.

Hutchinson noted how divisive the issue has become, saying his son Seth was among the people who had signed a petition asking him to veto the bill.

“This is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial, but these are not ordinary times,” he said.

In a statement following Hutchinson’s news conference, the HRC President Chad Griffin called the governor’s plan “a sign of progress.”

“But the proof will be in the pudding, and we must now wait to see what actions and language Governor Hutchinson and the Arkansas Legislature put forward in the coming days and weeks,” he said in a prepared statement. “It is imperative that any legislation that advances must have language that explicitly ensures that it will not undermine the fundamental rights of LGBT people and all other Arkansans. The fact also remains that the only way to ensure LGBT Arkansans are treated equally under state law is to add explicit protections for them to it.” 

Conservative groups that had been pushing for the measure questioned the need for any changes.

“I’m very puzzled at this point to see why the bill would need to be amended at this late date, considering everybody in the chamber has had a chance to see it,” said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council. “I think it’s been thoroughly vetted and it’s a good law.”

The lawmakers behind the proposal said they were open to discussions, but stopped short of saying they would support any changes.

“We’re going to go to work on it,” Republican Rep. Bob Ballinger of Hindsville said.

In a statement, the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas praised Hutchinson and legislative leaders for “their efforts to bring the controversy surrounding HB1228 to a reasonable conclusion.”

Legislators face a short window to address Hutchinson’s concerns. The governor has five days to take action on the bill before it becomes law without his signature, and lawmakers had hoped to wrap up this year’s session by Thursday.

Removing the bill from Hutchinson’s desk will require a simple majority in the 100-member House, but reversing the votes that gave the measure final approval needs the support of at least 67 members. Lawmakers could also use an abandoned bill that had been intended to expand the state’s anti-discrimination laws to amend the religious-objections measure.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.)

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