Property Rights Bill Misunderstood, Author Says

Legislation meant only to bring uniformity to property laws in Oklahoma does not infringe on the First Amendment right of freedom of religion at churches across the state, the bill’s author said today.

There is a misunderstanding of House Bill 1725, said Rep. Pam Peterson, author of the bill. The legislation would simply require the owner of church property to be clearly stated in the deed or trust agreement, so it is understood who owns the land.

The legislation has been targeted by many church leaders across the state, who claim the bill is trying to take away a national denomination’s right to own land on which a church is situated.

Peterson said the bill is neutral when it comes to who owns the land. Instead, the bill would bring uniformity to the law as it applies to the ownership and transfers of all Oklahoma property, regardless of who owns the property.

“We at the state have an interest in knowing who owns the property,” said Peterson, R-Tulsa. “This bill does not favor the church itself or the denomination when it comes to ownership; it simply states the owner, whoever it is, should be clearly identified in the property’s deed.”

The bill is partly in response to a land dispute between Tulsa’s Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church and Presbyterian Church USA. Last year, Kirk of the Hills agreed to pay $1.75 million to the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery/Presbyterian Church USA to keep the church building and property after the congregation left the Presbyterian Church USA. The settlement came after a Tulsa County judge ruled that the denomination was the land owner.

Peterson again stressed that if her legislation had been in place, the denomination and the local church could have made certain that the deed reflected the owner of the property.

“Then two years of uncertainty and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees could have been avoided,” she said.

The bill does not favor one side or the other.

“The parties can structure the deed to clearly state the identity of the owner,” said Peterson. “We want to avoid a patchwork of court decisions that are increasingly determining ownership in cases like these. It is our job as legislators, not the court’s job, to make the law.

“If this bill becomes law, it will still be up to the denominations and their member congregations to determine how they want to hold their property, but the law would make sure it is done in the manner that clearly reflects who owns the property. We have no interest in who owns the property,” she said.

The bill is currently pending before the House Judiciary Committee.