Arizona Laws 41-1493.04. Free exercise of religion; professional or occupational license; certificate or registration; appointments to governmental offices; definition
A. Government shall not deny, revoke or suspend a person‘s professional or occupational license, certificate or registration for any of the following and the following are not unprofessional conduct:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 41-1493.04
- Exercise of religion: means the ability to act or refusal to act in a manner substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief. See Arizona Laws 41-1493
- Government: includes this state and any agency or political subdivision of this state. See Arizona Laws 41-1493
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes a religious assembly or institution. See Arizona Laws 41-1493
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
1. Declining to provide or participate in providing any service that violates the person’s sincerely held religious beliefs except performing the duties of a peace officer.
2. Refusing to affirm a statement or oath that is contrary to the person’s sincerely held religious beliefs.
3. Expressing sincerely held religious beliefs in any context, including a professional context as long as the services provided otherwise meet the current standard of care or practice for the profession.
4. Providing faith-based services that otherwise meet the current standard of care or practice for the profession.
5. Making business related decisions in accordance with sincerely held religious beliefs such as:
(a) Employment decisions, unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law.
(b) Client selection decisions.
(c) Financial decisions.
B. Government shall not deny a person an appointment to public office or a position on a board, commission or committee based on the person’s exercise of religion.
C. This section is not a defense to and does not authorize any person to engage in sexual misconduct or any criminal conduct.
D. This section does not authorize any person to engage in conduct that is prohibited under the Constitution of the United States or of this state or section 15-535.
E. This section does not authorize any person to engage in conduct that violates the emergency medical treatment and active labor act (P.L. 99-272; 100 Stat. 164; 42 United States Code § 1395dd) or the religious land use and institutionalized persons act (P.L. 106-274; 114 Stat. 803; 42 United States Code § 2000CC-1) as of the effective date of this section.
F. For the purposes of this section, "government" includes all courts and administrative bodies or entities under the jurisdiction of the Arizona supreme court.