Tennessee AG Says Specialty Plate For Church Is Unconstitutional

On Wednesday, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office issued Opinion No. 09-82 finding that a proposed bill to create a specialty license plate honoring the Church of God in Christ would violate the Establishment Clause. SB2145, as amended, provides that the funds produced by sale of the plates will be allocated to Church of God in Christ Charities. The AG's opinion concludes that the proposed law favors one religious entity and that both the message on the plates and the direct payment of funds to the church and its charities would be seen as an endorsement of religion. Finally, the Opinion concludes that the program would probably require monitoring to make sure that the funds were not used for religious purposes, and that would create an unconstitutional intrusion into church operations. Wednesday's Memphis Commercial Appeal reported on the AG's advisory opinion.