Sanctuary Tax Exemption Bill Starts Its Way Through Nevada Legislature
Michael Hillerby, Rebecca Wilis, Pat Hickey, and Gene Savoy Jr. In front of the Nevada Legislature building after the Nevada Assembly Taxation Committee hearing. PHOTO: Ted Staver
Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., Head Bishop of the International Community of Christ and President of the Nevada Clergy Association, has been working diligently for the past several months to prepare a piece of legislation that would not only provide full tax exemption for Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary, an event that Church members have been awaiting for over three decades, but also provide protection to all properties devoted to religious purposes.
Nevada Assembly Bill AB391 revises provisions governing the exemption from property taxes of certain property used for religious worship. The bill is a very important piece of legislation that expands the scope of religious property tax exemption in Nevada and will benefit all religions in the state of Nevada, was introduced in the Nevada Assembly on March 17, 2015.
Currently, if any religious organization in Nevada purchases a piece of property to build on, it would be taxed until fully developed. Under the proposed amendment to NRS 361.125, it would be exempt from the time it was acquired.
Bishop Savoy sought support for the bill from members of the Nevada Clergy Association and received it from 13 members, with letters of endorsement from the Muslim Community, Hindu Community, Jewish Community, Divine Mission and Satyachetana International, Catholic Community, and others.
The bill was introduced in the Assembly on March 17, 2015 by Michael Hillerby of the firm Kaempfer Crowell. However, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. And Michael’s father, Fred Hillerby, now retired, had been working on the bill for nearly two-and-one-half years. The 2013 Nevada legislature was already in session when the two began their collaboration. And since the Nevada legislature meets for 120 days every two years, 2015 was the earliest the bill could be introduced.
The Nevada Assembly Taxation Committee hearing on the bill took place on Tuesday, March 24th. Present at the meeting to represent the Church were Church members Gene Savoy Jr., Rebecca Willis, Ted Staver, Michael Hillerby and Nevada Assemblyman Pat Hickey.
Following the hearing, Bishop Savoy personally thanked the members of the committee and requested their support of the bill, which assures equitable treatment for all recognized religious organizations in Nevada without denominational preference.
Voting by the committee is scheduled for next week.
< To read the text of Assembly Bill 391 as it was introduced, CLICK HERE. >
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Nevada Assemblyman, and daily political commentator, Pat Hickey posted this article on the bill on his web site shortly before the bill was introduced on March 17th.
When it comes to paying taxes, the tension between church and state has been around for a long time. Jesus made the point pretty well some 2,000 years ago when he said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Problems arise when the jurisdiction of one infringes upon the rights of the other.
A case in point:A local Northern Nevada church, the International Community of Christ (ICC), owns 1,300 acres of land off Pyramid Highway where they worship and practice their faith. The “problem” is that their sanctuary is not your classic cathedral or house of worship, but rather a desert hillside overlooking Spanish Springs. Central to their worship practice and their communion with God is being outdoors surrounded by nature.
An issue arose in the 1980s when Washoe County tax assessors began sending them property tax bills for the undeveloped portions of their land. The basis for this demand was NRS 361.125, which provides an exemption for “churches, chapels, other than marriage chapels, and other buildings…and the lots of ground on which they stand.” The county did exempt the portions of the property that were actually developed, but taxed the undeveloped areas.
The ICC pastor has asked members of the Washoe delegation to help with his pay-unto-Caesar problem. I and a few others have therefore introduced a bill, AB 391, that would add language to NRS saying that the current church exemption in the law would apply to parcels of land used exclusively for religious purposes and would include both developed and undeveloped portions of the parcel.
The Church is not saying that if they build timeshare condominiums on the lovely hillside in Sparks, they shouldn’t be taxed. They’re just saying that if your congregation gathers up on a hill to worship like Jesus did while delivering the Sermon on the Mount above the Sea of Galilee, you shouldn’t have to “render” to the local tax assessor.
Should be an interesting hearing today at 1:00 p.m. in the Assembly Taxation Committee in room 4100. Both “Caesar’s” and “God’s” people are expected to be in attendance. It’s not expected that the “sermons” given in testimony will match those referenced above, but they may be worth a listen nonetheless.
