MONTGOMERY—Attorney General Luther Strange praised the United States Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari recently in Lynch v. Alabama, a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s property-tax system.
“The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene confirms our consistent position that Alabama’s property tax structure does not violate the United States Constitution, and equally as important, that the citizens of Alabama have a right to structure their own tax system. The Office of Attorney General remains committed to defending and vindicating this important right whenever necessary.”
The denial of Supreme Court review leaves intact a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in January of this year.
The 11th Circuit agreed with the State that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge Alabama’s property tax millage caps because removing the caps would not result in relief of the harm claimed by the plaintiffs. The appeals court stated that “removal of the millage caps found in Sections 214, 215, and 216 of Article XI and Section 269 of Article XIV—the remedy the plaintiffs seek—would not redress the asserted injury, which at bottom is the inability of the plaintiffs and their elected officials to raise state and local revenue for public education.” The Court noted particularly that “voters in Lawrence and Sumter counties, where the plaintiffs reside, have rejected various proposals to increase property taxes.”
The 11th Circuit also considered the issue of property classifications in Alabama’s tax system, and ruled on the merits to find it constitutional. “To prevail on their constitutional challenge to Amendment 373, the plaintiffs were required to prove not only discriminatory impact, but also racially discriminatory intent or purpose,” the Court stated. In the 11th Circuit’s view, there was no basis for rejecting the District Court’s well-supported finding that racial motivation played no substantial or motivating factor in enacting the State’s property classification system.
Attorney General Strange commended Solicitor General Andrew Brasher and Assistant Attorney General Will Parker for their efforts at this stage of the case.
