GREENSBURG — A state senator said that the state legislature was forced to fix the contentious religious freedom legislation because the resulting economic turmoil was threatening the state’s ability to pay its bills.
The law, signed by Gov. Mike Pence March 27, allows people to ask a court to exempt them from a law if they believe the law burdens or is likely to burden their exercise of religion. A court would have to decide whether the claim is valid, and then determine whether the law is the least restrictive means to pursue the compelling governmental interest that underlies the law.
Opponents of the law had said that the law allows business owners to use their religious freedom to refuse service to gay and lesbian Hoosiers, which caused statewide protests from individuals and big corporations, nationwide threats of boycotts and businesses announcing that they would curb their investments in Indiana.
The economic repercussions were serious enough to prompt credit rating agency Moddy’s to threaten to downgrade Indiana’s debt rating, said State Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg.
If that had happened, Leising said, she is not sure whether Indiana would have been able to pay its bills.
Leising made the comments Thursday at the Decatur County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner at the administration building of the Decatur County Community Schools.
Leising said the battle over the state’s religious freedom law was, in part, caused by the media’s poor reporting on the issue.
Legislators made some changes to the law Thursday, and that “fix” has reduced some of the opponents’ criticisms, she said.
Some important challenges yet remain in this legislative session, Leising said, including adopting a budget and altering the school funding formula to make sure it does not disadvantage rural schools.