Protecting Freedom of Conscience (MS HB1523)

Anti-LGBTQ+ Stand-in bill

A model bill that first appeared in 2016. 72 bills in 23 states were matched to it. The full story: author, spread, ads, funding and lawsuits.

Subject
Religious exemptions
First appeared
2016
Where its text comes from
Stand-in bill. Its text is taken from an introduced bill used in place of a model-bill document: MS HB 1523 (2016).
Credited to
Alliance Defending Freedom
Years filed
2013–2026
States
Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, U.S. Congress, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming

Match levels

7 matched bills were filed before the template first appeared (2016) and are marked in the lists below. They may be among the template's sources rather than copies of it. How to read these pages

Bills matched to this model bill

Clear

Near-verbatim (13)

These bills carry the template's text nearly word for word.

BillStateIntroducedStatus
CO HB 1206 (2018)ColoradoFailed
KY HB 372 (2018)KentuckyFailed
OK SB 1250 (2018)OklahomaFailed
CO HB 1140 (2019)ColoradoFailed
MS HB 1176 (2019)MississippiFailed
CO HB 1033 (2020)ColoradoFailed
MA H 1392 (2020)MassachusettsFailed
SC H 3878 (2021)South CarolinaFailed
KY HB 495 (2022)KentuckyFailed
MA H 1536 (2022)MassachusettsFailed
SC H 3611 (2023)South CarolinaFailed
ID H 578 (2024)IdahoEnacted
SC H 3121 (2025)South CarolinaPending

13 bills

All model bills and families

Data as of November 3, 2026.