First Baptist Church of San Antonio v. Bexar County Appraisal Review Board

Today the court adopts a reasonable and practical approach to the problem of determining primary use of a place of religious worship. It is a fair approach, one which does not stretch the exemption beyond the constitutional limit or beyond the intent of the legislature. It is an approach which offers appraisal districts common sense guidance to the task of applying the concept of “primary use.” And it does not, as the dissent would do, confine the exemption so narrowly as to eradicate it altogether.

Many states have grappled with the definition of “use” in statutes similar to ours. Most of…