Arkansas enacted the Conscience Protection Act, Act 733, shielding religious refusals from state penalties

On April 12, 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed House Bill 1615 into law as Act 733 of the 2023 Regular Session of the 94th General Assembly, titled the "Conscience Protection Act." The bill was led in the House by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R-Elm Springs) and passed the Republican-controlled Arkansas General Assembly before reaching the governor's desk.

Act 733 amends Arkansas's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-401 et seq.) to place the burden of proof on the government and to require that the statute be construed in favor of broad protection of religious exercise "to the maximum extent" permitted by the state and federal constitutions. It also creates a new subchapter (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-123-501 to -505) prohibiting "state government" from taking "discriminatory action" against a person, business, or religious organization because of a sincerely held religious belief. The enumerated barred actions include altering tax treatment or denying tax exemptions, withholding grants, contracts, or benefit-program entitlements, imposing fines or penalties, denying licenses, certifications, or accreditations, and taking adverse employment action. The statute expressly extends its protection to closely held entities "operating with a sincerely held religious belief, including a belief about biological sex or marriage," and waives sovereign and qualified immunity for claims brought under it.

Supporters, including national religious-freedom groups, described the measure as a shield for faith-based organizations, while LGBTQ+ and civil-rights advocates warned that it authorizes identity-based refusals of services and benefits and immunizes them from state penalty. Act 733 is a religious-exemption and refusal-shield law; it does not repeal or alter recognition of same-sex marriage and contains no marriage-license or solemnization provision. It is distinct from a same-numbered 2025 bill (HB1615 of 2025, enacted as Act 677), a textually different "religious nondiscrimination" act that added a marriage-license recusal provision and is recorded separately in this archive.