SB4 - Michigan Religious Freedom Restoration Act (MiRFRA)

Author/Sponsor: Senator Mike Shirkey (R-Clark Lake)
Date Introduced: 20 January 2015

Description:

• 20 January 2015, this is another piece of so-called "religious freedom" legislation, which is really a way to provide license to discriminate, being re-introduced for the current legislative session. The legislation was introduced and then referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
• According to Michigan's PRIDESOURCE, MiRFRA was originally introduced by former Speaker of the House Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) as a "balance" to legislative activity to amend the state's civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. While the move to amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) failed, Bolger was undeterred and pushed his MiRFRA legislation through the House. It died in the Senate at the end of the lame duck session in 2014.