Hearing Set in National Religious Broadcasters Johnson Amendment Case

On September 22nd, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order scheduling a hearing on the pending joint motion for order for entry of consent judgment and the pending motion to intervene by Americans United for Separation of Church and State in National Religious Broadcasters v. Werfel. The order also permits Americans United to argue against the joint motion even though it is not currently a party to the case. As I explained this past July in a piece for The Conversation, the proposed order would include a statement that the federal tax prohibition on tax-exempt charities supporting or opposing candidates for elected public office does not apply to “speech by a house of worship to its congregation, in connection with religious services through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith.” Coverage: Politico (subscription required).

In the meantime, both Ellen P. Aprill (Loyola L.A.) and Benjamin Leff (American) have written commentaries about the case. Aprill’s is titled Misunderstanding National Religious Broadcasters and appeared in Tax Notes. Leff’s is titled The I.R.S. Is Trying to Uphold a Core Liberal Principle and appeared in the N.Y. Times.