,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ebhi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #f1 #bjbf,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself and ,ms4 ,slotkin7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to protect the right to the free exercise of religion4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,right to ,worship ,act4 #b4 ,protecting the right to the free exercise of religion 7a7 ,definitions and rules 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7,a7 ,disrupt ,the term disrupt1 used with respect to conduct and a scheduled religious service1 means conduct that meaningfully interferes with the ability of people to participate in the scheduled religious service1 to the extent that the conduct causes a substantial interruption to the service's normal operation4 7,b7 ,house of worship ,the term house of worship means a defined parcel of property or other space that religious adherents collectively recognize or religious leadership designates as a place to routinely or regularly gather to hold religious services4 7,c7 ,impede ,the term impede1 used with respect to conduct and a scheduled religious service1 means conduct that unreasonably hinders or deters a person from entering a house of worship1 or that threatens or intimidates a person1 in a manner that prevents participation at a scheduled religious service4 7,d7 ,knowingly ,the term knowingly1 used with respect to a person and a disruption or impediment1 means that the person is aware or reasonably should be aware that the person's conduct will cause such disruption or impediment1 respectively4 7,e7 ,religious service ,the term religious service includes any collective worship or prayer service1 class1 or other event1 at which individuals congregate to worship1 study1 or otherwise exercise1 their religion4 7,f7 ,scheduled religious service ,the term scheduled religious service includes any religious service-- 7i7 that is observably underway or imminently beginning or concluding1 as evidenced by the gathering or dispersing of congregants at or by congregants approaching or leaving a house of worship2 7ii7 the date and time of which have been communicated to the defendant by law enforcement1 by a representative of the house of worship1 or through a prior judicial or administrative proceeding1 or of which the defendant had actual knowledge2 or 7iii7 follows a customary and regularly recurring schedule of which the defendant had actual knowledge4 7,g7 ,state ,the term ,state includes a ,state of the ,united ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and any commonwealth or territory4 7#b7 ,rules 7,a7 ,scheduled religious service ,nothing in this section shall require a house of worship to publish the schedule for a scheduled religious service on any publicly accessible medium4 7,b7 ,disruption ,for the purposes of this section1 whether a person's course of conduct is a disruption shall be determined only by the manner in which the course of conduct is carried out1 including its volume1 duration1 pervasiveness1 frequency1 and impact1 rather than by the content of any speech or expression involved4 7b7 ,prohibited activities ,it shall be unlawful for any person-- 7#a7 to engage in a course of conduct that substantially affects interstate commerce1 within #ajj feet from any pedestrian or vehicular entryway of any house of worship1 during the period beginning #a hour before the start of and ending #a hour after the conclusion of a scheduled religious service1 by knowingly disrupting the scheduled religious service or knowingly impeding people from participating at the scheduled religious service2 or 7#b7 to conspire to engage in1 or cause another person to engage in1 any course of conduct made unlawful under paragraph 7#a74 7c7 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this section shall be construed-- 7#a7 to preclude a person from freely speaking on any subject so long as such speech is conducted pursuant to the time1 place1 and manner restrictions set forth in this section2 or 7#b7 to preclude participation in activities for which a ,federal1 ,state1 or local government entity has issued a permit4 7d7 ,civil fines ,whoever violates this section shall be assessed1 by the ,attorney ,general-- 7#a7 in the case of a first offense1 a civil fine of #b1ejj2 7#b7 in the case of a second offense1 a civil fine of #e1jjj2 and 7#c7 in the case of a third or subsequent offense1 a civil fine of #aj1jjj per occurrence4 7e7 ,civil remedies 7#a7 ,right of ,action 7,a7 ,in general ,any person aggrieved by reason of a violation of subsection 7b7 may commence a civil action for the relief set forth in subparagraph 7,b7 in any appropriate district court of the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,relief ,in any action under subparagraph 7,a71 the court may award appropriate relief1 including temporary1 preliminary1 or permanent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages1 as well as the costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses4 ,with respect to compensatory damages1 the plaintiff may elect1 at any time prior to the rendering of final judgment1 to recover1 in lieu of actual damages1 an award of statutory damages in the amount of #e1jjj per violation4 7#b7 ,action by ,attorney ,general of the ,united ,states 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,attorney ,general has reasonable cause to believe that any person 7including a group of persons7 is being1 has been1 or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section1 the ,attorney ,general may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court of the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,relief ,in any action under subparagraph 7,a71 the court may award appropriate relief1 including temporary1 preliminary or permanent injunctive relief1 and compensatory damages to a person aggrieved as described in paragraph 7#a77;,a74 ,in the absence of actual damages1 the court1 to vindicate the public interest1 may assess a civil penalty against each defendant in the amount of #e1jjj per violation4 7#c7 ,actions by ,state ,attorney ,general 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,attorney ,general of a ,state has reasonable cause to believe that any person 7including a group of persons7 is being1 has been1 or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section1 such ,attorney ,general may commence a civil action in the name of such ,state1 as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in such ,state1 in any appropriate district court of the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,relief ,in any action under subparagraph 7,a71 the court may award the relief described in paragraph 7#b77;,b74 7f7 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act 7including a sentence1 phrase1 or word7 or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid1 illegal1 unconstitutional1 or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction1 the remainder of this ,act and of the application of the provision to any person or circumstance1 that can be enforced without the use of the offending provision or application1 shall not be affected4