California Bill Friendly to Churches Would Ease Some Litigation, Attorney Says
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
January 22, 2004
(AgapePress) - A proposed bill in the California legislature would ease the burden on churches wishing to relocate or expand.Assembly Bill 470 would incorporate the language of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) into state law. RLUIPA granted unprecedented protection to churches from local governments unreasonably preventing their construction or expansion. In addition to copying the federal language, AB 470 would explicitly require local governments to permit churches to locate without the need of obtaining a burdensome discretionary use permit.
Testifying recently in favor of AB 470 was attorney Jonathan Huber of the Pacific Justice Institute, which is based near Sacramento. Brad Dacus, president of PJI, says the proposed law would prevent unnecessary litigation with hostile local governments.
"Much of the litigation that we're involved with [at the Pacific Justice Institute] is because of ambiguities in the federal statute," Dacus explains. "If we're able to clear up those ambiguities with the state law, we won't have to litigate those issues with hostile local governments still trying to find ways to get around the federal statute that protects churches on land-use issues."
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Brad Dacus |
According to Dacus, that is the objective of AB 470 -- i.e., to clear up some of the ambiguities found in RLUIPA. "Whether or not states adopt legislation like this is not a question of whether churches will be able to build," the attorney says. "They will be able to build and expand with the new federal statute -- the only question is, will it take a little longer and require a little harder work in litigation."After the testimony on AB 470, the Local Government Committee of the California State Assembly voted along party lines (six Democrats against, three Republicans for) to reject the bill in its present form. But Dacus says the bill could still be adopted later in the legislative session.
"We are hopeful that in the end this legislature will provide tolerance for the group that is persecuted most in California -- religious institutions like churches," he says.
