Such as Constitutional amendment regarding churches and broadband bill
By David Beard, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Legislative committee meetings got underway Thursday morning at the state Capitol and the House and Senate Judiciary committees made short work of a couple measures. One deals with broadband, one with churches.
Senate Judiciary unanimously approved SJR 4, a proposed Constitutional amendment to bring the state Constitution in line with the U.S. Constitution and current state law and practice.
SJR 4, if passed by both houses and approved by the voters, would eliminate a clause from the state Constitution that prohibits the state from granting charters of incorporation to churches and denominations.
Committee counsel explained that churches incorporate in order to obtain some legal protections, such as liability, and to make it easier to borrow money and purchase property.
The state of Virginia’s Constitution contained a similar clause counsel said, that was declared unconstitutional by a federal court in 2002 for violating the First Amendment. Virginia and West Virginia were the only two states with such a ban…
