CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s constitution will be changed to allow the Boy Scouts of America to rent out parts of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in Fayette County for private events without losing the organization’s property tax exemption.
On Tuesday, voters approved the West Virginia Nonprofit Youth Organization Tax Exemption Amendment.
According to unofficial results, 62 percent of voters approved the amendment.
With the approval, the amendment requires the Legislature to enact laws to protect local and regional businesses from “unfair competition and unreasonable loss of revenue caused by the nonprofit organization use of the tax exemption.”
The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve is the permanent home of the National Boy Scout Jamboree and one of the Boy Scouts of America’s four high adventure bases nationwide.
The National Boy Scout Jamboree was first held there in 2013 and will return in 2017. In 2019, the Summit will be the host site for the 24th World Scout Jamboree.