INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is expected to sign into law today a religious objections bill some convention organizers and business leaders have opposed amid concern it could allow discrimination against gay people.

The signing would make Indiana the first state to enact such a change this year among about a dozen where such proposals have been introduced. The measure would prohibit state and local laws that “substantially burden” the ability of people — including businesses and associations — to follow their religious beliefs.

Pence, a Republican, backed the bill as it moved through the Legislature and spoke at a Statehouse rally that drew hundreds of supporters of the proposal. The governor planned to sign the bill in a private ceremony, Pence spokesman Kara Brooks said.

The governor said in a statement he believed the measure “is about respecting and reassuring Hoosiers that their religious freedoms are intact.”

In a letter to Pence sent Wednesday, leaders of the Christian Church warned the legislation was causing them to reconsider plans to hold their 6,000-person General Assembly in Indianapolis in 2017.