II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1883 

To amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 

Policies Act of 1970 to assist property owners and Federal agencies 

in resolving disputes relating to private property. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 18, 2005 

Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 to assist property 

owners and Federal agencies in resolving disputes relating to private property. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering More 

5 Property Owners With Enhanced Rights Act of 2005’’ or 

6 the ‘‘EMPOWER Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) the Constitution of the United States explic2 itly states that ‘‘No person shall be . . . deprived of 

3 life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; 

4 nor shall private property be taken for public use, 

5 without just compensation.’’; 

6 (2) in carrying out activities to promote the 

7 general welfare, including public works, the Federal 

8 Government affects real property and sometimes dis9 places private property owners, small businesses, and 

10 family farmers, among others; 

11 (3) Congress enacted the Uniform Relocation 

12 Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies 

13 Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) (referred to 

14 in this section as the ‘‘Uniform Act’’), which applies 

15 to all Federal agencies, to provide for uniform and 

16 equitable treatment of persons displaced from their 

17 homes, businesses, and farms by Federal and feder18 ally-assisted programs; 

19 (4) Congress designated the Department of 

20 Transportation as the lead agency for purposes of 

21 carrying out the Uniform Act, and required the De22 partment, in coordination with other Federal agen23 cies, to issue a rule, establish procedures, and other24 wise implement the Uniform Act; 
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1 (5) private property owners, small businesses, 

2 and family farmers affected by Federal and feder3 ally-assisted programs under which private property 

4 is acquired for public use face a daunting Federal 

5 bureaucracy; and 

6 (6) private property owners, small businesses, 

7 and family farmers affected by Federal and feder8 ally-assisted programs would greatly benefit from 

9 the services of an advocate of high position within 

10 the Federal Government to— 

11 (A) advocate for the best interests of those 

12 individuals and small businesses; 

13 (B) provide property owners with informa14 tion; and 

15 (C) assist property owners in every way 

16 practicable to achieve a fair and equitable set17 tlement with minimum cost and disruption. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

19 (1) to enhance the rights of property owners, 

20 small businesses, and family farmers affected by 

21 Federal or federally-assisted programs; 

22 (2) to establish an advocate for property own23 ers; 

24 (3) to provide consistency among Federal law in 

25 effect as of the date of enactment of this Act; 
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1 (4) to ensure conformity among Federal agen2 cies; and 

3 (5) to amend the Uniform Act to establish a 

4 program, which will apply to all Federal agencies, to 

5 enhance the rights of, and provide advocates for, pri6 vate property owners, small businesses, and family 

7 farmers affected by Federal and federally-assisted 

8 programs. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Section 101 of the Uniform Relocation Assistance 

11 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4601) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(14) PROPERTY RIGHTS.—The term ‘property 

15 rights’ means rights associated with characteristics 

16 of private real property that— 

17 ‘‘(A) under relevant case law, have been 

18 held to be protected by the Constitution of the 

19 United States; or 

20 ‘‘(B) are created or protected under Fed21 eral law (including regulations), or under State 

22 law in the State the controversy arises, and 

23 case law interpreting that law.’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. UNIFORM POLICY ON REAL PROPERTY ACQUISI2 TION PRACTICES. 

3 Section 301 of the Uniform Relocation Assistance 

4 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 

5 U.S.C. 4651) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the section heading and all that 

7 follows through ‘‘SEC. 301. In order’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 301. UNIFORM POLICY ON REAL PROPERTY ACQUISI10 TION PRACTICES. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (a) (as designated by para13 graph (1))— 

14 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert15 ing the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGEN17 CIES.—The head of a Federal agency shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) make every reasonable effort to ac19 quire real property expeditiously by negotiation; 

20 ‘‘(B) at the beginning of the negotiation 

21 process, advise each property owner involved in 

22 the negotiation, in writing, of the name and 

23 current contact information for the Office of 

24 the Property Rights Ombudsperson established 

25 by subsection (b) (or any other property rights 

26 Ombudsperson appointed under subsection (b)) 
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1 that is available to assist the property owner in 

2 understanding, and resolving any disputes aris3 ing from, the acquisition process; and 

4 ‘‘(C) provide to the property owner a de5 scription of the property rights of the property 

6 owner, including a description of available medi7 ation and other dispute resolution alter8 natives.’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

10 the following: ‘‘In a case in which property to 

11 be acquired includes a residential or rec12 reational lot, a residential structure containing 

13 12 or fewer dwelling units, a family farmer (as 

14 defined in section 101 of title 11, United States 

15 Code) or a small business concern (as defined 

16 in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 632)), if requested by the property 

18 owner, the head of the Federal agency shall 

19 provide to the property owner a copy of the ap20 praisal used to establish the value of the prop21 erty for negotiating purposes.’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) OFFICE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS

24 OMBUDSPERSON.— 

25 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
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1 ‘‘(A) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means 

2 the Office of the Property Rights 

3 Ombudsperson established by paragraph (2)(A). 

4 ‘‘(B) OMBUDSPERSON.—The term 

5 ‘Ombudsperson’ means the Property Rights 

6 Ombudsperson appointed under paragraph 

7 (2)(B). 

8 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established 

10 within the lead agency the Office of the Prop11 erty Rights Ombudsperson. 

12 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT OF HEAD OF OF13 FICE.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

14 appoint as Property Rights Ombudsperson an 

15 attorney with a background or expertise in law 

16 relating to eminent domain and the taking of 

17 private property. 

18 ‘‘(C) SUPERVISION AND ACCOUNT19 ABILITY.—The Ombudsperson shall report di20 rectly to the President. 

21 ‘‘(D) STAFF.—The Secretary of Transpor22 tation may hire such personnel as are necessary 

23 to assist the Ombudsperson in carrying out the 

24 duties of the Ombudsperson. 

25 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Ombudsperson shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) develop and maintain expertise in and 

2 understanding of the law relating to property 

3 rights; 

4 ‘‘(B) at the request of a Federal agency or 

5 a State agency, advise the agency with respect 

6 to actions that may affect property rights; 

7 ‘‘(C) advise private property owners that 

8 have a legitimate potential or actual claim 

9 against a Federal agency involving property 

10 rights; 

11 ‘‘(D) identify Federal agency actions that 

12 have potential property rights implications and, 

13 if appropriate, advise the relevant Federal agen14 cies with respect to those implications; 

15 ‘‘(E) provide information to private citi16 zens, civic groups, Federal agencies, State 

17 agencies, and other interested parties regarding 

18 the rights of those parties under this Act; and 

19 ‘‘(F) if appropriate, and if requested to do 

20 so by a private property owner, mediate or ar21 range arbitration (including the appointment of 

22 1 or more arbitrators in accordance with para23 graph (4)(C)) for disputes between private 

24 property owners and Federal agencies that in25 volve— 
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1 ‘‘(i) property rights; 

2 ‘‘(ii) eminent domain; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) relocation assistance under this 

4 Act. 

5 ‘‘(4) ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) PARTICIPATION.—If arbitration or 

7 mediation is requested by a private property 

8 owner under paragraph (3)(F) and arranged by 

9 the Ombudsperson, a Federal agency shall par10 ticipate in the mediation or arbitration as if the 

11 matter were ordered to mediation or arbitration 

12 by a court of competent jurisdiction. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—In conducting or ar14 ranging for arbitration under paragraph (3)(F), 

15 the Ombudsperson shall follow any applicable 

16 procedure or requirement under chapter I of 

17 title 9, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(C) APPOINTMENT OF ARBITRATOR.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In selecting an in20 dividual to arbitrate a dispute, the 

21 Ombudsperson shall appoint an inde22 pendent arbitrator who is acceptable to 

23 each party involved in the dispute. 

24 ‘‘(ii) DISAGREEMENT OVER ARBI25 TRATOR.—If a party to a dispute objects 
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1 to the appointment of an arbitrator se2 lected by the Ombudsperson, and that 

3 party is willing to pay for the services of 

4 another arbitrator that is acceptable to the 

5 Ombudsperson, the other arbitrator shall 

6 arbitrate the dispute at the expense of the 

7 party that objected to the original arbi8 trator. 

9 ‘‘(iii) OMBUDSPERSON AS ARBI10 TRATOR.—With the agreement of each 

11 party to a dispute, the Ombudsperson may 

12 act as the arbitrator for the dispute. 

13 ‘‘(iv) PANEL OF ARBITRATORS.—The 

14 Ombudsperson may, on the initiative of the 

15 Ombudsperson or upon agreement of each 

16 party to a dispute, appoint a panel of arbi17 trators to conduct the arbitration for the 

18 dispute. 

19 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF MATTER SUBJECT

20 TO ARBITRATION.—Subject to chapter I of title 

21 9, United States Code, the arbitrator and par22 ties involved shall treat the matter being arbi23 trated as if— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the matter were ordered to arbi2 tration by a court of competent jurisdic3 tion; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the arbitrator or panel of arbi5 trators appointed by the Ombudsperson in 

6 accordance with this subsection were ap7 pointed by the court. 

8 ‘‘(E) DECLINATION TO ARRANGE ARBITRA9 TION.—If a property owner requests that the 

10 Ombudsperson arrange arbitration in a matter, 

11 the Ombudsperson shall issue a written state12 ment declining to arrange the arbitration if, as 

13 determined by the Ombudsperson— 

14 ‘‘(i) the issues in dispute are not ripe 

15 for review; 

16 ‘‘(ii) assuming the alleged facts are 

17 true, no cause of action exists under any 

18 Federal or State law; 

19 ‘‘(iii) all issues in dispute are beyond 

20 the scope of the statutory duty of the 

21 Ombudsperson to review; or 

22 ‘‘(iv) arbitration is otherwise not ap23 propriate. 

24 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE AUTHORITY.—In conducting 

25 an arbitration, the arbitrator shall apply all relevant 
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1 Federal and State laws (including regulations and 

2 case law), as determined by the arbitrator. 

3 ‘‘(6) FINAL DECISION AND REVIEW.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

5 days after the date on which the arbitrator 

6 issues a final decision for a dispute, any party 

7 to the dispute may submit the final decision 

8 and award, or any issue upon which the award 

9 is based, to the appropriate United States dis10 trict court for de novo review. 

11 ‘‘(B) BINDING ARBITRATION.—A property 

12 owner and a Federal or State government enti13 ty that are parties to a dispute may agree 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(i) the arbitration shall be binding; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) no de novo review may occur 

18 after issuance of the final decision of the 

19 arbitrator. 

20 ‘‘(C) NO ARBITRATION NECESSARY.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Arbitration by or 

22 through the Ombudsperson shall not be re23 quired before a party to any potential arbi24 tration may bring a civil action in the ap-
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1 propriate court of jurisdiction to adjudicate 

2 a claim. 

3 ‘‘(ii) NO FAILURE TO EXHAUST REM4 EDIES.—The lack of arbitration by or 

5 through the Ombudsperson shall not be 

6 considered to be— 

7 ‘‘(I) a failure to exhaust available 

8 administrative remedies; or 

9 ‘‘(II) a bar to bringing a civil ac10 tion described in clause (i). 

11 ‘‘(7) ROLE OF OMBUDSPERSON IN JUDICIAL

12 PROCEEDINGS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsperson 

14 may not be compelled to testify in a civil action 

15 filed with regard to the subject matter of any 

16 review or arbitration conducted by the 

17 Ombudsperson. 

18 ‘‘(B) WORK PRODUCTS OF

19 OMBUDSPERSON.—The written work products 

20 of the Ombudsperson, including notes, opinions, 

21 and conclusions of the Ombudsperson, shall not 

22 be admissible in any civil action relating to an 

23 issue with respect to which the Ombudsperson 

24 provided advice to any party involved in the 

25 civil action. 
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1 ‘‘(C) REPRESENTATION.—The 

2 Ombudsperson may not represent a private 

3 property owner, State agency, or local govern4 ment in any administrative or judicial pro5 ceeding. 

6 ‘‘(8) EMINENT DOMAIN PROCEEDINGS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) NO EFFECT ON OCCUPANCY PRO8 CEEDING.—No dispute submitted to the 

9 Ombudsperson under this section shall bar or 

10 stay any action in an eminent domain pro11 ceeding for occupancy of premises. 

12 ‘‘(B) STANDING.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

14 (ii), the Ombudsperson, or a mediator or 

15 arbitrator acting at the request of a prop16 erty owner under this subsection, shall 

17 have standing, in an eminent domain pro18 ceeding filed in United States district court 

19 by a Federal agency or a State agency, to 

20 file with the court a motion to stay the 

21 proceeding during the pendency of the me22 diation or arbitration. 

23 ‘‘(ii) NECESSITY OF STAY.—The 

24 Ombudsperson, or a mediator or arbitrator 

25 described in clause (i), may not file a mo-
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1 tion to stay an eminent domain proceeding 

2 described in clause (i) unless the 

3 Ombudsperson, mediator, or arbitrator cer4 tifies at the time of filing of the motion 

5 that the stay is reasonably necessary to 

6 reach a resolution of the matter through 

7 mediation or arbitration. 

8 ‘‘(iii) DURATION OF STAY.—If a stay 

9 of an eminent domain proceeding is grant10 ed under this subparagraph, and the order 

11 granting the stay does not specify the date 

12 on which the stay terminates, the 

13 Ombudsperson, mediator, or arbitrator 

14 that filed the motion for the stay shall file 

15 with the appropriate United States district 

16 court a motion to terminate the stay by 

17 not later than the date that is 30 days 

18 after— 

19 ‘‘(I) the date of resolution of the 

20 matter through mediation; 

21 ‘‘(II) the date of issuance of a 

22 final decision on, or award for, the 

23 matter through arbitration; or 

24 ‘‘(III) the date on which the 

25 Ombudsperson, mediator, or arbi-
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1 trator determines that mediation or 

2 arbitration of the matter is not appro3 priate. 

4 ‘‘(9) APPRAISAL.— 

5 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL AP6 PRAISAL.—A private property owner or dis7 placed person may request that the 

8 Ombudsperson, mediator, or arbitrator author9 ize the conduct of an additional appraisal of the 

10 value of the property that is the subject of the 

11 mediation or arbitration. 

12 ‘‘(B) CONDUCT OF AND PAYMENT FOR AP13 PRAISAL.—If the Ombudsperson, mediator, or 

14 arbitrator determines that the conduct of an 

15 additional appraisal under subparagraph (A) is 

16 reasonably necessary to reach a resolution of 

17 the matter being mediated or arbitrated, the 

18 Ombudsperson, or mediator, or arbitrator 

19 may— 

20 ‘‘(i) provide for the conduct of an ad21 ditional appraisal of the property by an 

22 independent appraiser; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) require the Federal agency that 

24 is a party to the mediation or arbitration 

25 to pay the costs of conducting the first ad-
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1 ditional appraisal ordered under this para2 graph. 

3 ‘‘(10) OTHER OFFICES OF OMBUDSPERSONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL OFFICES.—Each Federal 

5 agency may establish an office of property 

6 rights ombudsperson within the Federal agency 

7 to comply with paragraph (1), and to carry out 

8 other duties and responsibilities of the 

9 Ombudsperson under this subsection, if the 

10 Federal agency establishes the office in accord11 ance with regulations that are promulgated to 

12 implement this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(B) USE OF STATE OFFICES.—If a State 

14 establishes an office of property rights 

15 ombudsperson in accordance with regulations 

16 that are promulgated to implement this sub17 section, a Federal agency, with the approval of 

18 the State, may use that State office— 

19 ‘‘(i) to comply with paragraph (1); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ii) to carry out the duties and re22 sponsibilities of the Ombudsperson under 

23 this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(C) NO FEDERAL OR STATE OFFICES.—If 

25 a Federal agency does not establish an office of 
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1 property rights ombudsperson described in sub2 paragraph (A) and is involved in the use of emi3 nent domain power, relocation issues, or a prop4 erty rights dispute in a State that does not es5 tablish an office of property rights 

6 ombudsperson described in subparagraph (B), 

7 the Federal agency shall use the services of the 

8 Ombudsperson— 

9 ‘‘(i) to comply with paragraph (1); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) to carry out the duties and re12 sponsibilities of the Ombudsperson under 

13 this subsection.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIFORM LAND ACQUISITION 

15 POLICIES; PAYMENTS OF EXPENSES INCI16 DENTAL TO TRANSFER OF REAL PROPERTY 

17 TO STATE; PAYMENT OF LITIGATION EX18 PENSES IN CERTAIN CASES. 

19 Section 305(a)(1) of the Uniform Relocation Assist20 ance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 

21 (42 U.S.C. 4655(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(includ22 ing through the appointment of a property rights 

23 Ombudsperson in accordance with regulations promul24 gated to carry out this title)’’ after ‘‘section 301’’. 

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