Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1964 )

TEZEATTOX~NEY GENERAL
OFTEXAS
Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. C- 360
County Attorney
Harris County Courthouse Re: Whether certain
Houston, Texas property owned by
the Lutheran Student
Foundation of Houston
.is exempt from ad
valorem taxes under
Dear Mr. Resweber: stated facts.
You have submitted a MemorandumBrief eon the above
captioned question. We quote the ~fbllowlng excerpt therefrom:
"The facts as presented by the
said foundation ,&t ran Student
Foundation of Houston7 are as follbws:
*At present, the Pastor serving
the University of Houston, Rice Uni-
versity and Texas Southern University
is the Reverend Milton E. Mayer. He
resides for the present at'~5774 Heron
Drive and he Is acquiring this property
‘, in his own interest.
'Under obligation to the Division
of College and University work of the
Natlonal.Lutheran Council, the Foun-
dation however, is required to provide
a dwelling place or parsonage for the
;r?Ft?;;Ed minister called to this
The trustees of the foundatlon
have no; elected to provide the dwelling
place for Pastor Mayer. He will then
dispose of his property according to his
wishes. The trustees have entered into
a contract of purchase for property at
3910 Julius Lane.
'No single chapel, church or meet-
ing house in the area 1s exclusively
dedicated to his practice, but he has
access to any of the churches, chapels
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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 2 Opinion No. (C-360)
or meeting places of the confessions
subscribing to the Lutheran organl-
zatlon~s program. The parsonage will
be used at times by the minister In
the administration of the sacraments,
spiritual counseling and guidance,
ceremonies consistent with Lutheran
worship and for Christian fellowship
meetings. Even though there Is no
direct association of this ministry
,to any one congregation, we believe
this property should be considered
tax exempt as any other of the
parsonages In the community.'"
You have also furnished us with a copy of the Charter
of the Lutheran Student Foundation of Houston, hereinafter
referred to as the Foundation. We quote the following
excerpt from the Charter:
” I .The purpose of this aorpo-
ratlon*siall be, nlthout pecuniary
gain or profit to Its members, and in
all ways which are lawful, to maintain,
develop and promote the ministry of the
Lutheran Church to students and faculty
In the lnstltutlons of higher learning
In Rarrls County; TexBs, In accordance
with the policies of the Dlvlsi6n of
Student Service of the National Lutheran
Council. . . .n
Section 2 of Article VIII of the Constitution of the
State of ;ews authorized the Legislature to exempt from
taxation .actual places or fif7 religious worahlp,
also any pio;erty owned by a church or by a strictly
religious society for the exclusive use as a dwelling
place for the ministry of such church or rellg$ous society,
and which yields no revenue whatever to such church or
rellglous society; provided that such exemption shall not
extend to more properCy than Is reasonably necessary for a
dwelling place and in no event,more than one acre of land;
Pursuant to this authorization the Legislature has
k&ed Article 7150, Title L.22, Vernon’s Clvll Statutes.
The pertinent portion of Article 7150 reads as follows:
*The following Property shall be
exempt from taxation, to-wit:
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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 3 'Opinion No. (C-360)
8, .Publlc school houses and
actual'piaces of religious worship,
alS0 any property owned by a church
or by a strlctLiy religious society,
for the exclusive use as a dwelling
place for the ministers of such
church or religious society, the
books and tirniture therein and the
grounds attached to such buildings
necessary for the proper occupancy,
use and enjoyment of the same, and
which yields no revenue whatever to
such church or religious society;
provided that such exemption as to
the dwelling place for the ministers
shall riot extend to more property
than Is reasonably necessary for a
dwelling place,and In no went more
than one acre of land. . . .*
We think that~ the charter purpose of the Foundation,
quoted supra at page 2 of this opinion, States In plain and
unamplguous language a purpose which necessarily constitutes
the,Foundatlon a .strlctly rellglous``soclety* rlthln the
meaning of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Constitution and
Article 7150.
In the MemorandumBrief, It Is submitted that exemption
cannot be accorded because the dwelling will not be used
exclusively as a dwelling place for the ministry of a church
or religious society. We think that the requirement of
exclusive use Is met. The fact that the parsonage may be
used at times by the minister In the administration of
sacraments, a practice which may not be followed by all creeds,
1s not Inconsistent with the use by the minister of the
parsonage as his dwelling place. Certainly it may be presumed
that in many, If not all, faiths spiritual counseling and
guidance, aeremonles consistent with the particular faith
Involved and the pursuit of fellowship In such faiths through
meetings of Its members occur in the dwelling places for the
mlnlstry.
In Attorney Qeneral's Opinion No. S-197 (May 14, 1956),
this office held that the separate residence of an assistant
rector of a church was exempt from ad valorem ~%axas even
though the residence of the rector was also exempt so long as
both residences did not'occupy more than one acre of land, the
limitation imposed by both the Constltutlon and statute. In
that opinion two dwelling places were exempt and two rectors
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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 4 Opinion No. (C-360)
mlnistered..to ,one,,,otiutich. :In the':lnstant case, we have the
converse of this situation In that the pastor has access In
the area to any of the Lutheran churches, chapels, or meeting
places of the confessions subscribing to the Lutheran organi-
zation's program. We think that the Constitutional provltilon
Is br~oad enough to authorize the exemption of the dwelling'
place for the ministry even though the mlnlstratlons may be
performed In more than one plaoe provided ,the dwelling plaae
occupies not more than one acre of land and that the statute
Is equally comprehensive.
SUMMARY
-------
The Lutheran Student Foundation of
Houston, a non-profit corporation organized
for the purpoee of maintaining, developing
and promoting the ministry of the Lutheran
Church to students and faculty for higher
learning In Harris County, Texas, Is a
%trlotlg religious society" within the
meaning of Seotlon 2 of ArtWe VIII of
the Texas Constitution and Artlole 7150,
Title 122, Vernonts Civil Statutes. The
dwelling place purchased by the Foundation
for an ordained Lutheran minister Is exempt
from ad valorem taxes even though no alngle
chapel, ohurch or meeting house Is
exoluslvely served by his ministry.
Yours very truly,
WAQGONER CARR
Attorney General of 9!exaa
APPROVEDi
0PINIoNcoMKxTEz
W. V. Geppert, Chairman
Pat Bailey
Brandon Biakett
Paul Phy
Harry Oee
APPROVEDFORTltIEATTORNEYQENERAL
BY: Stanton Stone
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