Government Nondiscrimination Act.

2016
State of Wyoming
16LSO-0151
Introduced
1.6

HOUSE BILL

NO.

HB0098

Government Nondiscrimination Act.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Winters and Steinmetz and Senator(s) Barnard, Dockstader, Hicks, Kinskey and Meier

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to administration of government; establishing the Government Nondiscrimination Act as specified; providing for the protection of the free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions; providing for judicial relief; amending the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act; providing definitions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 9
‑
21
‑
101 through 9
‑
21
‑
10
5

are
created to read:

CHAPTER 21
GOVERNMENT NONDISCRIMINATION
ACT

9
‑
21
‑
101
.

Short title.

This a
ct may be cited as the
"
Government Nondiscrimination

Act.
"

9
‑
21
‑
102
.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act
:

(i)

"
Benefit program
"
means any program administered or funded by the state of Wyoming, or by any person on behalf of the government of this state, that provides cash, payments, grants, contracts, loans or in
‑
kind assistance;

(ii)

"
G
overnment of this state
"

means the state of Wyoming or any of its branches, agencies, departments, boards, instrumentalities, institutions or political
subdivisions
and includes any person acting under color of state law;

(iii)

"
Person
"
includes an individual, partnership, corporation, joint stock company or any other association or entity, public or private, provided that
"
person
"
does not include:

(A)

A state employee acting within the scope of employment;

(B)

A hospital, clinic, hospice, nursing home or other medical or residential custodial facility with respect to visitation, recognition of a designated representative for health care
decision making
or the provision of emergency medical treatment necessary for treatment of an illness or injury.

9
‑
21
‑
10
3
.

Protection of the free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions.

(a)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
government of this
state shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that the person believes or acts in accordance with a religious
belief or moral conviction that:

(i)

M
arriage is or should be recognized as the union of one (1) man and one (1) woman
;
or

(ii)

That
"
man
"
and
"
woman
"
mean an individual
'
s biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at the time of birth.

(b)

As used in this section
"
discriminatory action
"
means any action taken by the state to:

(i)

Alter in any way the tax treatment of, or cause any tax, penalty or payment to be assessed against, or deny, delay or revoke an exemption from taxation of, any person referred to in subsection (a) of this section;

(
i
i)

Withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate or otherwise deny any state grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certifica
tion, accreditation, employment
or other similar position or status f
rom or to any person
referred to in
subsection (a) of this section
;

(iii)

W
ithh
old, reduce, exclude, terminate
or otherwise deny any benefit under a benefit program from or to
any person
referred to in
subsection (a) of this section
;

(iv)

Disallow, deny or otherwise make unavailable any deduction for state tax purposes any charitable contribution made by or to a person referred to in subsection (a) of this section;

(v)

Withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate or otherwise deny access or an entitlement
of a person referred to in subsection (a) of this section
to any state property, facility, educational institution,
charitable
fundraising campaign or
speech forum, including traditional, limited and nonpublic forums
; or

(
v
i
)

O
therwise
discriminate against
any person
referred to in
subsection (a) of this section
.

(c)

The
g
overnment
of this state
shal
l consider accredited, licensed
or certified for purposes of
state
law any person who
would be accredited, licensed
or certified, respectively, but for a determination against
the
person wholly or partially on the basis that the person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one
(1)
man and one
(1)
woman
.

9
‑
21
‑
10
4
.

Judicial relief.

(a)

A person may assert
a
violation
or attempted violation
of this act as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and
if successful may
obtain compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief or any other appropriate relief, together with costs and
attorney
'
s fees against the
state
.
Any payment under this section shall not exceed the limits provided by W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
118.

(b)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action under this section may be commenced, and relief may be granted, without regard to whether the person commencing the action has sought or exhausted available administrative remedies.

(c)

The attorney g
eneral may bring an action for injunctive o
r declaratory relief against any agency, instrumentality
or political subdivision of this
state
to enforce compliance with this
a
ct. Nothing in this subsection sha
ll be construed to deny, impair
or otherwise affect
any right or authority of the attorney general, the state, or any agency, officer

or employee of this
state
, acting under any law other than this subsection, to institute or intervene in any proceeding.

9
‑
21
‑
10
5
.

Rules of construction.

(a)

This act shall be construed in favor of a broad protection of free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this act and the constitutions of this state and the United States.

(b)

The protection of free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions afforded by this act are in addition to the protections provided under federal law, state law and the state and federal constitutions.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to preempt or repeal state law that is equally or more protective of free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions. Nothing in this act shall be construed to narrow the meaning or application of any state or federal law protecting free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent the
state or
federal government from providing, either directly or through a person not seeking protection under this act, any benefit or service authorized under law.

Section 2
.

W.S.
1
‑
39
‑
104(
a) and
1
‑
39
‑
116(a)
are
amended to read:

1
‑
39
‑
104
.

Granting immunity from tort liability; liability on contracts; exceptions.

(a)

A governmental entity and its public employees while acting within the scope of duties are granted immunity from liability for any tort except as provided by W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
105 through 1
‑
39
‑
112 and limited by W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
121. Any immunity in actions based on a contract entered into by a governmental entity is waived except to the extent provided by the contract if the contract was within the powers granted to the entity and was properly executed and except as provided in W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
121. The claims procedures of W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
113 apply to contractual claims against governmental entities.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to provide immunity from liability for a violation of the
Government Nondiscrimination
Act, W.S. 9
‑
21
‑
101 through 9
‑
21
‑
10
5
,
and the claims procedures of W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
113 shall not apply to any claim for judicial relief under W.S. 9
‑
21
‑
10
4
(
a) or (b).

1
‑
39
‑
116
.

Exclusiveness of remedy.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided in W.S. 9
‑
21
‑
10
4
(
a) and (b), t
he remedy against a governmental entity as provided by this act is exclusive, and no other claim, civil action or proceeding for damages, by reason of the same transaction or occurrence which was the subject matter of the original claim, civil action or proceeding may be brought against the governmental entity. No rights of a governmental entity to contribution, indemnity or subrogation shall be impaired by this section. Nothing in this section prohibits any proceedings for mandamus, prohibition, habeas corpus,
injunction
or quo warranto.

Section

3
.

This
act is effective July 1,
201
6
.

(END)

1
HB0098