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Four arts and theater organizations filed an amended complaint today in federal court in Rhode Island in their First Amendment lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Claiming that the RI Vehicle Value Commission “has taken the easy way out, adopting a formula that is as simple to administer as it is unfair to motor vehicle owners,” the RI ACLU has submitted written testimony to the Commission, in advance of a public hearing scheduled for later this month, calling on the agency to adopt a fairer methodology for establishing the “presumptive value” by which cars are assessed for tax purposes. The assessment process has taken on particular significance in light of a recent state law change that has substantially increased both the size of the car tax that can be imposed and the number of previously-exempt cars that are now subject to the tax.

These bills would have ensured judicial oversight in the process of asset seizure by law enforcement, and would have provided for the ability of Rhode Island residents to retain their belongings without the burdens that a civil forfeiture process places upon them.