HB 542 - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0726
05/08
HOUSE BILL 542
AN ACT relative to the applicability of a state of emergency declaration to a house of
worship.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ammon, Hills. 40; Rep. Kofalt, Hills. 4; Rep. O'Hara, Belk. 9
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ANALYSIS
This bill provides that any prohibition on in-person gatherings during a declared state of
emergency shall not apply to houses of worship.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 542 - AS INTRODUCED
21-0726
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT relative to the applicability of a state of emergency declaration to a house of
worship.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 Legislative Finding. If not checked, governments may trample on religious exercise by
2 crafting generally applicable laws which do not explicitly target a religion or religious activity. The
3 fact that a law is generally applicable does not mean that it complies with the federal or state free
4 exercise clauses. As the United States Supreme Court has said, the “constitutional rights of those
5 spreading their religious beliefs through the spoken and printed word are not to be gauged by
6 standards governing retailers or wholesalers of books.” Murdock v. Com. of Pennsylvania, 319 U.S.
7 105, 111 (1943).
8 2 New Paragraph; State of Emergency Declaration; Powers; Application to Houses of Worship
9 Limited. Amend RSA 4:45 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
10 IV. To guarantee the free exercise of religion and right of the people to peaceably assemble,
11 as required by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Part I, Article 5 of the
12 New Hampshire constitution, any powers activated pursuant to a state of emergency shall not
13 prohibit in-person gatherings at established houses of worship, such as churches, monasteries,
14 mosques, shrines, synagogues, or temples, or temporary places of worship, such as a home bible
15 study or other religious worship or study group or venue.
16 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.


Statutes affected:
Introduced: 4:45