Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed state Religious Freedom Restoration Act after Republican majority rejected anti-discrimination carve-out
On April 2, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2095, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, into law at a private event hosted by the conservative Christian group The Family Leader. The law, enacted as Iowa Acts Chapter 1003, sets a strict-scrutiny standard for government actions that burden religious exercise; Republican legislators had rejected a Democratic amendment (S-5018) that would have barred the law from overriding civil-rights, disability, and anti-discrimination protections. The bill passed the Senate 31-16 and the House 61-33 along party lines.