S492-118

Introduced

To prohibit the imposition of certain substantial burdens, relating to COVID–19 vaccine mandates, on religious exercise, and for other purposes.

118th Congress Introduced Feb 16, 2023

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill requires findings and purpose Congress finds the following: In response to the COVID–19 pandemic, State and local governments and private sector entities have implemented unprecedented public health requirements, creates definitions In this Act: The term covered person means a person raising a claim or defense under this Act, and creates protection of religious liberty and exercise by exemptions for the COVID–19 vaccine No government shall impose or implement a COVID–19 vaccine mandate in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on. It relies on compliance mandates, exemptions, grants, and definition changes. The main policy areas are Healthcare Consumers, Finance, Environment, and Science & Space.

Who Benefits and How

Businesses and employers affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens, Tribal governments and members affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens, and Regulated entities and members of the public affected by the bill could face reduced risk.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause would take on compliance duties, Researchers and scientific institutions affected by the bill would take on compliance duties, and Financial services firms and customers affected by the bill would take on compliance duties.

Key Provisions

  • Requires findings and purpose Congress finds the following: In response to the COVID–19 pandemic, State and local governments and private sector entities have implemented unprecedented public health requirements...
  • Creates definitions In this Act: The term covered person means a person raising a claim or defense under this Act.
  • Creates protection of religious liberty and exercise by exemptions for the COVID–19 vaccine No government shall impose or implement a COVID–19 vaccine mandate in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on...
  • Creates judicial relief A covered person may assert an actual or threatened violation of this Act by a government as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and obtain compensatory damages...
  • Requires rules of construction Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize any government to burden any religious belief.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

The bill requires findings and purpose Congress finds the following: In response to the COVID–19 pandemic, State and local governments and private sector entities have implemented unprecedented public health requirements, creates definitions In this Act: The term covered person means a person raising a claim or defense under this Act, and creates protection of religious liberty and exercise by exemptions for the COVID–19 vaccine No government shall impose or implement a COVID–19 vaccine mandate in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on.

Key Policy Areas

Healthcare Consumers, Finance, Environment, Science & Space

Primary Purpose

The bill requires findings and purpose Congress finds the following: In response to the COVID–19 pandemic, State and local governments and private sector entities have implemented unprecedented public health requirements, creates definitions In this Act: The term covered person means a person raising a claim or defense under this Act, and creates protection of religious liberty and exercise by exemptions for the COVID–19 vaccine No government shall impose or implement a COVID–19 vaccine mandate in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on.

Policy Domains

Healthcare Consumers Finance Environment Science & Space

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • Businesses and employers affected by the bill
  • Tribal governments and members affected by the bill
  • Regulated entities and members of the public affected by the bill
  • Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause
  • Researchers and scientific institutions affected by the bill
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
Businesses and employers affected by the bill: , ,
Tribal governments and members affected by the bill: ,
Researchers and scientific institutions affected by the bill:
Regulated entities and members of the public affected by the bill: ,
Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause: ,
Identified Costs
  • Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause
  • Researchers and scientific institutions affected by the bill
  • Financial services firms and customers affected by the bill
  • Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill
  • Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
Financial services firms and customers affected by the bill:
Researchers and scientific institutions affected by the bill:
Environmental and public health interests affected by the bill:
Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause:
Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause: , , , , ,

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Feb 16, 2023

Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Lee) introduced the following …

Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Healthcare Consumers Finance Environment Science & Space

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology