Date: 4/2/25 7:37 am From: mdpethke via groups.io <mdpethke...> Subject: [labird] Legislative attacks on the nonprofit property tax exemption
As the Baton Rouge Audubon Society's treasurer, thanks to all of those who voted against Amendment 2 on Saturday's statewide ballot, which would have, among many other things, removed the constitutional provision exempting nonprofit organizations from property taxes. If the amendment had passed, according to information maintained by local assessor’s offices, BRAS would have had to find an additional $18,300 annually to support its sanctuaries. BRAS has acquired property over the last five decades secure in the knowledge that a constitutional exemption existed, and this change would have radically altered its operations.
The amendment process this year occurred largely out of sight of the public, with few or no public hearings on the suggested changes. I am confident that this issue will be revisited. Business and governmental reform organizations have criticized the nonprofit property tax exemption since its inception, arguing that Louisiana’s exemption is too broad, in that the 1974 Constitution removed a requirement from the prior constitution that the nonprofit exemption be tied to a legitimate nonprofit purpose, such as educational, charitable or cultural uses. Critics argue that too much property in the hands of nonprofits, particularly in urban areas, is held and then either leased for profit or devoted to nonpublic purposes, defeating the spirit if not the letter of the constitutional exemption. Amendment 2, notably, did not propose a limited exemption along these grounds and addressing these, frankly, legitimate concerns, but eliminated property tax exemptions for nonsectarian nonprofits altogether.
BRAS is confident that it could meet the requirements of a limited property tax exemption, such as that contained in the prior Louisiana Constitution. Peveto Woods and the Amite River Wildlife Sanctuary are open to the public, used wholly for educational and cultural purposes, and serve important environmental ends. We cannot, however, withstand a more general cancellation of the exemption, which would most particularly threaten the future of Peveto Woods, a crown jewel of the birdwatching community whose near gulf-front location makes it extremely valuable real estate, with property tax assessment values to match.
The BRAS Board of Directors has not typically had to be keenly, as opposed to generally, aware of legislative activities, and was caught unawares, as were many nonprofits, by this latest proposal. We ask for the birding community’s help in keeping your ear to the ground and an eye on the legislature, the Governor’s Office, and other policymakers for further developments, and informing BRAS about any future potential threats to its sanctuaries. Clearly the best place to inform the legislature about the value we place on the nonprofit property tax exemption and the tremendous value the sanctuaries represent for the citizens of not only Louisiana but the entire birding world would be in committee, so that we could, in the future, draw up legislation that addresses the weaknesses of the current exemption while protecting the educational and cultural values we hold dear. I may be posting here again in the near future as legislative committees address the fallout from Amendment 2’s failure, and seek people willing to join me in testifying about how critical this exemption is to nonprofit’s efforts at preserving environments friendly to birds and other wildlife.
