Nonprofit finance, accounting, and tax news. Other tidbits of interest to the charity community.
Over five million bucks. That is how much money state and county officials have taken from California taxpayers. Why did they need to take that much money out of our pockets? Because they can’t read the constitution and thus decided that churches and religious faith are not essential. Due to their lack of reading Continue reading
Well, $2,150,000 to be precise. The state negotiated a settlement to reimburse legal fees of $1,600,000 for religious discrimination efforts against South Bay United Pentecostal Church and $550,000 for religious discrimination efforts against Father Trevor Burfitt. Both settlements also come with a permanent injunction forbidding the state from imposing religiously discriminatory rules on any Continue reading
People of faith gain another victory in California. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has read the U.S. Constitution and a long string of Supreme Court rulings (any one of which should have long since been sufficiently clear to the State of California). The court issued a permanent injunction against Continue reading
On 4/9/21, the Supreme Court told the state of California for the fifth time that the Free Exercise of Religion clause of the First Amendment actually, really, truly does allow free exercise of religion. Oh yeah, the injunction mentioned this was the fifth injunction against the unconstitutional state rules. On 4/12/21, attorneys from the Continue reading
Apparently neither officials in Santa Clara County nor a panel of the Ninth circuit Court of Appeals were able to read the injunction issued by the Supreme Court or that the state allowed indoor worship. After the injunction allowing indoor worship was issued and after the state of California allowed indoor worship up to Continue reading
In two rulings late on Friday, 2/5/21, the Supreme Court issued emergency injunctions in favor of two California churches allowing them to resume in-person worship services on 2/7/21. The longer ruling with multiple concurring or dissenting opinions was issued on behalf of South Bay United Pentecostal Church, located in San Diego. The follow-on injunction, Continue reading
Well, that didn’t take long. On Thursday, 1/21/21 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal from South Bay United Pentecostal Church, in Chula Vista, California, requesting an injunction to allow them to worship indoors. On Monday, 1/25/21, the church filed an emergency appeal with the United States Supreme Court requesting an immediate Continue reading
Two federal district judges and two different panels of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals closed their eyes ever so tightly to prevent them from reading either the First Amendment or the very strong, very clear Supreme Court injunctions as they ruled that California’s rule prohibiting all indoor worship while in tier 4 is Continue reading
Circumstances are now to the point in the state of California, and three counties in particular, where we can say that the government is now persecuting the Church. This presents itself as counties going after three specific congregations, but when you look at the details you see a broader pattern in play. These efforts Continue reading