Federal religious liberty law struck down.

A federal law aimed at making it more difficult for state officials to enforce certain laws that could negatively affect religious groups suffered a setback in June.

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson of California ruled that Congress overstepped its bounds when it passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000. The act prohibits zoning regulations that impose a substantial burden on churches unless the local government can show a compelling reason for them. RLUIPA is widely seen as a partial replacement of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that the Supreme Court invalidated in 1997.

In fall 2000, the Lake Elsinore Christian Center and Church in Lake Elsinore, Calif., sought a permit from city officials to relocate into an area zoned for commercial uses. The city council in February 2001 denied a permit, citing loss of commercial tax revenue and the loss of the only discount food store in an economically depressed area. The church then sued in federal court, arguing that the city's denial of the permit violated its religious liberty rights as defined under RLUIPA.

Judge Wilson concluded that Congress did not have constitutional authority to create RLUIPA, which he said essentially redefined First Amendment religious liberty rights.

"The result is likely to be, as in this case, that many land use decisions will be invalidated despite being legitimately motivated and generic in effect, simply because the aggrieved landowner is a religious actor," Wilson wrote in Elsinore Christian Center v. City of Lake Elsinore.