KY religion bills to watch: Tax exemptions, church-developed housing & religious liberty
A bill to require the permanent display of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky’s public schools. An effort to combat antisemitism at public colleges and universities. And another bill to restore religious liberty for anyone whose religious exercise has been “substantially burdened.”
Republicans, who hold majorities in the House and Senate in Frankfort, have filed a handful of bills this legislative session to promote and protect judeo-Christian values.
The bill filing deadlines for the 30-day legislative session passed earlier in February. The General Assembly adjourns March 28.
Here are 11 bills and resolutions relating to religion that the Herald-Leader is tracking:
Ten Commandments, moral instruction
Three bills and resolutions filed this session propose permanently displaying the Christian Ten Commandments in public spaces.
House Joint Resolution 15 from Rep. Shane Baker, R-Somerset, would place a permanent granite monument displaying the Ten Commandments on the Kentucky Capitol grounds in Frankfort.
House Bill 65 from Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, would require that all elementary and secondary schools display a “durable, permanent copy of the Ten Commandments” on the wall of every classroom that’s 16-by-20 inches. It would also require a notation that says the “secular application of the Ten Commandments is clearly seen in its adoption as the fundamental legal code of Western Civilization and the Common Law of the United States.”
House Bill 116 from Rep. Richard White, R-Morehead, would allow the commandments be displayed in public schools but allows more flexibility. Under White’s bill, it wouldn’t be a requirement but an option, and school boards would have to allow the commandments to be displayed anywhere in the school building.
Each of these proposals is bolstered by a recent nonbinding opinion from Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman, who said it’s likely constitutional that the state mandate all K-12 classrooms display a copy of the Ten Commandments, and that the display of the commandments on Capitol grounds would also likely pass constitutional muster.
House Bill 607 from Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, requires districts to allow for students to be excused for “moral instruction” for no more than one hour each week but not to take place on school property. What’s considered moral instruction is not defined in the bill language or existing statute, but it should be “voluntary and free from coercion by school personnel,” the bill reads.
Religious liberty protections
House Bill 60 from Sen. Steve Rawlings, R-Burlington, would strengthen protections — and recourse — for any individual who perceives their religious liberty to be “substantially burdened” by governmental action under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“Substantially burden” is defined in the bill as the “taking of any action that curtails or denies the right to act or the right to refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief.”
Rawlings filed a similar bill last year — House Bill 47 — but it was not passed into law. Both versions formalize definitions of what it means to have one’s religious liberty substantially burdened by government, and establishes private right of action steps for an individual to seek damages, should this happen.
The bill also waives sovereign and governmental immunity in the face of liability, which means a government agency or employee could be sued directly by someone claiming that agency or employee violates their sincerely-held religious belief.
A related bill from freshman Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, House Bill 177, also defines what it means to have one’s religious liberty “substantially burdened,” and outlines steps to seek relief in the event that occurs.
Roberts’ bill also proposes waiving sovereign, judicial and governmental immunity would be waived, meaning any government agency or person “acting under color of state law, or threatening or attempting to enforce a law, rule, policy or administrative regulation” adopted in state law could be sued.
Churches could develop affordable housing, avoid sales tax
Senate Bill 59 from Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, would lessen regulatory red tape if a church or religious institution wanted to build or provide affordable housing on their property, meaning a residential dwelling unit reserved for a household whose income doesn’t exceed 80% of the median income for the area.
Rather than apply for additional review and permitting, Higdon’s bill would allow a religious developer to be considered a “permitted use” in all residential or commercial zones.
Nonprofit religious institutions would be exempt from paying sales and use taxes under House Bill 453 from Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, and House Bill 37 from Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville. In Tipton’s bill, that tax exemption would apply to the sale of property and services.
House Bill 186 filed by Rep. Robert Duvall, R-Bowling Green, asks that the Internal Revenue Code define religious organizations as a tax exempt “charitable food donor,” which produces food for distribution to a homeless shelter or people displaced by a natural disaster.
Combating antisemitism
Senate Joint Resolution 55 from Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, would direct the governing board of all public colleges and universities in Kentucky to “adopt policies to combat antisemitism and require implementation through June 30, 2028.”
Tichenor, a member of the Kentucky-Israel Caucus, recently told a Senate Education Committee Feb. 20 that antisemitism on college campuses had spiked after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which in turn ignited an Israeli attack on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Tichenor’s resolution would also set requirements for heeding each policy, and require all post-secondary institutions to collect data on “antisemitism on their campuses” and report that to the Council on Postsecondary Education.
In November, Tichenor and Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, called on all state university presidents to sign a public letter in support of Israel, one that “condemns Hamas and affirms the humanity of Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 11:28 AM.
