(NACBA) President Bush signed into law the “Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act” on Monday, May 20. This law amends section 107(2) of the Internal Revenue Code and codifies that a minister’s cash housing allowance may “not exceed the fair rental value of the home, including furnishings and appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities.”

Many denominational and secular news agencies are hailing this as a major victory and reporting that this law preserves the housing allowance. However, this is not yet a closed issue. There is still a determined effort in the works to have the housing allowance declared unconstitutional. The passage of this legislation has not deterred the opponents of the housing allowance.

This bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in early April and was rushed through both houses of Congress by unanimous votes in a mere three week period. Many of those involved in the process, including the leadership at most of the denominational offices and pension boards, thought the speedy passage of this act would cause the “Warren Case” to be dismissed and would save the housing allowance for ministers, priests, and rabbis. But, as  NACBA reported in our press release of April 16, passage of this law may not generate the desired result.

Immediately after Bush signed the act, the Department of Justice and Pastor Rick Warren filed a stipulation of dismissal of the lawsuit, which is under appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court. Today, University of Southern California Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky filed a notice that he will be filing a motion to intervene in the appeal and ask the court to ignore the stipulation. He is asking to be made a party to the appeal so the appeal will stay alive and the court will then be able to rule on the constitutionality of the housing allowance.

As of this writing, it is unknown as to when the justices in the Ninth Circuit will rule on the stipulation of dismissal or the motions by Chemerinsky. Keep visiting NACBA’s Web site for the very latest information regarding this case.