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Indiana Statehouse, looking west down Market Street from Monument Circle. Joe Vitti / The Star(Photo: Joe Vitti, The Indianapolis Star)
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Republican leaders are set to announce a deal Thursday morning that alters Indiana's controversial "religious freedom" law to ensure it does not discriminate against gay and lesbian customers of Indiana businesses.
The proposal — which grants new protections for LGBT customers, employees and tenants — is set for a 9 a.m. ET rollout at the Statehouse and a 9:30 a.m. committee hearing. It closely mirrors a draft plan that was circulated early Wednesday morning and could potentially quell concerns that have made Indiana the focus of national derision for one very intense week.
Senate President Pro Tem David Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma spent 90 minutes meeting late Wednesday evening discussing the deal with top staff and Gov. Mike Pence's chief of staff, Jim Atterholt.
"We feel there is a strong consensus," Long said Wednesday night, following the meeting. "We feel good about it. We did a lot of hard work to bring the groups together to find the comfort level everyone feels does the job of truly saying this does not discriminate against anyone."
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Atterholt, a former state lawmaker himself, did not say whether Pence would sign the compromise measure. He said Pence still needed to review the plan.
The deal was hammered out in private between Bosma, Long, Atterholt and a small handful of business leaders, including Republican powerbroker and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Mark Miles, throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday. However early discussions about the "fix" began last Friday, one day after Pence signed the law in a private ceremony.
The measure could put to rest some of the harsher criticisms that Indiana Republicans have suffered through in the past week. But it is unlikely to make either liberal or conservative activists happy.
The measure also has the potential to quell some of the damage Pence has endured in the past week, punctuated by David Letterman's recitation of an entire Top 10 list specifically mocking the first-term governor.
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A copy of proposed language was presented to Pence Wednesday morning. It was then the subject of negotiations among the Republican leaders, lawmakers and business leaders in private meetings throughout the day.
The flurry of activity culminated in a second round of private caucus meetings for Republican House and Senate members at about 5 p.m., where consensus on the new "clarifying" language was reached.
The compromise legislation specifies that the new religious freedom law cannot be used as a legal defense to discriminate against patrons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The proposal goes much further than a "preamble" that was proposed earlier in the week, and, if it stands, would be the first time any protections against discrimination have been extended to gays and lesbians in state law. But it doesn't go as far as establishing gays and lesbians as a protected class of citizens statewide or repealing the law outright, both things that Republican leaders have said they could not support.
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A draft circulated early Wednesday said that the new "religious freedom" law does not authorize a provider — including businesses or individuals — to refuse to offer or provide its services, facilities, goods, or public accommodation to any member of the public based on sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, or military service.
The proposed language exempts churches or other nonprofit religious organizations — including affiliated schools — from the definition of "provider."
Later Wednesday, additional language was added to include protections in housing and employment.
The clarifying language is likely to rile socially conservative advocacy groups, which hold significant sway among Republicans at the Statehouse and pushed hard for the religious freedom law after a failed legislative effort last year to enshrine a same-sex marriage ban in the state constitution.
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Leaders of three of those groups — the American Family Association of Indiana, the Indiana Family Institute, and Advance America — declined comment or did not return messages from The Star Wednesday.
But in an email update to supporters from the AFA's Micah Clark, he urged them to contact their state senators and to pray for legislators.
"At this very moment, the Indiana Senate is considering 'water-down' language to the recently passed and pro-religious-liberty bill, Religious Freedom Restoration Act," the email says. "Homosexual activists are demanding Christian business owners in Indiana be forced to compromise their faith."
At the same time, opponents of the law argued the clarification being discussed does not go far enough.
"We understand that lawmakers are working to 'fix' the Indiana RFRA that has done so much harm to Indiana over the past week, but we want to make it clear that we need full protection from discrimination against all LGBT Hoosiers across the state and a guarantee that this RFRA cannot be used to undermine any nondiscrimination protections," Katie Blair, campaign manager for Freedom Indiana, said in a statement.
The prospect of the clarifying language also failed to prevent the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from following through Wednesday on its threat of relocating its 6,000-person 2017 convention from Indianapolis because of the new law.
It has been threats from business leaders and financial institutions that caused the most worry at the Statehouse, ultimately spurring Republican leaders to reconsider a measure they never believed authorized discrimination.
Earlier in the day Wednesday, the California Endowment, one of the largest health foundations in the nation, sent letters to three Indiana companies — Eli Lilly and Co., Anthem Inc. and Berry Plastics Group — warning of possible dis-investment in their stock if the new Indiana religious freedom law stays on the books unaltered.
Statehouse Democrats continued to call for a repeal of the law and full statewide protections against discrimination of gays and lesbians. It was not clear Wednesday night if Democrats, who are vastly outnumbered in the Statehouse, would go along with the compromise, or if their votes were needed.
Senate Enrolled Act 101, signed into law by Pence during a private ceremony Thursday, prohibits state or local governments from substantially burdening a person's ability to exercise their religion — unless the government can show that it has a compelling interest and that the action is the least-restrictive means of achieving it. It takes effect July 1.
Although the original law does not mention sexual orientation, opponents feared it could allow business owners to deny services to gays and lesbians for religious reasons.
The law has garnered a national barrage of criticism from top business executives, celebrities and civil rights groups who fear the law could allow discrimination and damage the state's reputation. Conventions have canceled or threatened to move events that bring millions of dollars into the state. Prominent Indiana business executives have opposed the law, with some companies halting expansion plans and others canceling travel to the state. The NCAA, which is holding the men's Final Four in Indianapolis this week, has also expressed concerns about the law.
In response, Pence stood by the law and blamed the criticism on misconceptions promulgated by the media.
Contributing: Jeff Swiatek and Chris Sikich of The Star
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