Alaska Employment Law

Last week Alaska Superior Court Judge Michael Spaan upheld the constitutionality of the 2006 statute that exempts from taxation the residences of teachers at church schools.   The Alaska ACLU and several individuals had challenged that statute.

In his Memorandum Decision, Spaan stated:

Article IX, section 4 of the Alaska Constitution declares that, “All, or any portion of, property used exclusively for non-profit religious, charitable, cemetery, or educational purposes, as defined by law, shall be exempt from taxation.” Alaska Statute 29.45.030 codifies these constitutionally required tax exemptions. This statute contains an exemption for rectories that has been examined in prior rulings by the Alaska Supreme Court.  AS 29.45.030(a)(3) creates an exemption for “property used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, cemetery, hospital, or educational purposes.” In 2006, the Alaska legislature expanded the definition of “property used exclusively for religious purposes” to include “the residence of an educator in a private religious or parochial school. . . .”  Several groups have filed suit against the State alleging that this expansion violates the Establishment Clauses of the United States and Alaska Constitutions because it creates a tax exemption that discriminates in favor of religious institutions. 

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For the reasons addressed below, the court finds that the tax exemption contained in AS 29.45.030 is not facially unconstitutional under either the Alaska or United States Constitutions because the exemption for the residences of educators at nonprofit religious institutions also applies to residences occupied by educators at secular nonprofit institutions.  The court also finds that the statute does not violate the Equal Protection Clause or the single-subject requirement for legislation and that the statute is not void because of vagueness. The court grants summary judgment in favor of the State of Alaska and denies the plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment.

Coonrod v. State of Alaska and Anchorage Baptist Temple, et al., Case No. 3AN-06-08866 CI (Alaska Super. Court, Third Jud. Dist., 07/03/08 Mem. Dec.)(footnotes omitted)