A bill that requires state and local governments to treat religious services as essential during a state of emergency was rejected by the California State Senate. Authored by Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee), the Religion is Essential Act bill was presented April 13 before the Senate Judiciary Committee. More than 50 speakers spoke in favor of the proposed legislation during the hearing, while only one caller voiced opposition. “The process of the hearing actually went very good,” Jones told The Epoch Times in an April 14 interview, following the bill’s defeat. The proposal, SB 397, called for the right to practice one’s religion in their chosen house of worship to be deemed essential and treated no differently from other state-declared essential services such as shopping malls, fast-food restaurants, and Hollywood film production. The bill would have prohibited the government from enforcing a health, safety, or occupancy requirement that imposes a substantial burden on a religious service during an emergency. It would have allowed a religious organization that has been subject to state …