On Thursday, May 20, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1903 by a unanimous voice vote. This bill would preclude local governments from discriminatory treatment of religious uses. The bill is supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church State Council.

In recent years, local governments have become increasingly difficult to deal with when it comes to religious land uses. Whatever the reason, religious land uses often face hostile planning departments, city councils or county boards of supervisors. Adventist churches, schools and camp facilities across California have endured such conflicts. Last month we reported on the lawsuit involving a radio station denied permission to operate on church property in Vacaville.

Another wrinkle in the religious land use arena is that cities are increasingly pressuring churches to pay various fees and assessments, despite the fact that they are exempt from property taxation under the California Constitution.

One type of assessment is for a Business Improvement District. The Pomona Church is fighting an assessment of about $2,500 to improve downtown Pomona to make it more competitive for business. In a legal opinion challenging the assessment on both constitutional and public policy grounds, Alan Reinach, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty director for the Pacific Union Conference, pointed out that churches already devote their resources to improving the community, and that it is both arrogant and offensive for a city to assume that they can do better with church funds.

Please pray for AB 1903, and also contact us if your church or school has had either a good or bad experience with any land use issues. Sign up to receive our legislative e-lerts, so you can call or e-mail your Senators when AB 1903 moves to the Senate, at www.churchstate.org, or by e-mail to parl@puconline.org.