IB 

Union Calendar No. 666 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1689 

[Report No. 115–859] 

To protect private property rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2017 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, and 

Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

JULY 23, 2018 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To protect private property rights. 


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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 ‘‘Private Property 

5 Rights Protection Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE BY 

7 STATES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—No State or political subdivision 

9 of a State shall exercise its power of eminent domain, or 

10 allow the exercise of such power by any person or entity 

11 to which such power has been delegated, over property to 

12 be used for economic development or over property that 

13 is used for economic development within 7 years after that 

14 exercise, if that State or political subdivision receives Fed15 eral economic development funds during any fiscal year 

16 in which the property is so used or intended to be used. 

17 (b) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.—A viola18 tion of subsection (a) by a State or political subdivision 

19 shall render such State or political subdivision ineligible 

20 for any Federal economic development funds for a period 

21 of 2 fiscal years following a final judgment on the merits 

22 by a court of competent jurisdiction that such subsection 

23 has been violated, and any Federal agency charged with 

24 distributing those funds shall withhold them for such 2- 

25 year period, and any such funds distributed to such State 


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1 or political subdivision shall be returned or reimbursed by 

2 such State or political subdivision to the appropriate Fed3 eral agency or authority of the Federal Government, or 

4 component thereof. 

5 (c) OPPORTUNITY TO CURE VIOLATION.—A State or 

6 political subdivision shall not be ineligible for any Federal 

7 economic development funds under subsection (b) if such 

8 State or political subdivision returns all real property the 

9 taking of which was found by a court of competent juris10 diction to have constituted a violation of subsection (a) 

11 and replaces any other property destroyed and repairs any 

12 other property damaged as a result of such violation. In 

13 addition, the State or political subdivision must pay any 

14 applicable penalties and interest to reattain eligibility. 

15 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE BY THE 

16 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 

17 The Federal Government or any authority of the Fed18 eral Government shall not exercise its power of eminent 

19 domain to be used for economic development. 

20 SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

21 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any—(1) owner of private 

22 property whose property is subject to eminent domain who 

23 suffers injury as a result of a violation of any provision 

24 of this Act with respect to that property; or (2) any tenant 

25 of property that is subject to eminent domain who suffers 


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1 injury as a result of a violation of any provision of this 

2 Act with respect to that property, may bring an action 

3 to enforce any provision of this Act in the appropriate 

4 Federal or State court. A State shall not be immune under 

5 the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

6 States from any such action in a Federal or State court 

7 of competent jurisdiction. In such action, the defendant 

8 has the burden to show by clear and convincing evidence 

9 that the taking is not for economic development. Any such 

10 property owner or tenant may also seek an appropriate 

11 relief through a preliminary injunction or a temporary re12 straining order. 

13 (b) LIMITATION ON BRINGING ACTION.—An action 

14 brought by a property owner or tenant under this Act may 

15 be brought if the property is used for economic develop16 ment following the conclusion of any condemnation pro17 ceedings condemning the property of such property owner 

18 or tenant, but shall not be brought later than seven years 

19 following the conclusion of any such proceedings. 

20 (c) ATTORNEYS’ FEE AND OTHER COSTS.—In any 

21 action or proceeding under this Act, the court shall allow 

22 a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorneys’ fee as part 

23 of the costs, and include expert fees as part of the attor24 neys’ fee. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS TO ATTORNEY GEN2 ERAL. 

3 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO ATTORNEY GEN4 ERAL.—Any—(1) owner of private property whose prop5 erty is subject to eminent domain who suffers injury as 

6 a result of a violation of any provision of this Act with 

7 respect to that property; or (2) any tenant of property that 

8 is subject to eminent domain who suffers injury as a result 

9 of a violation of any provision of this Act with respect to 

10 that property, may report a violation by the Federal Gov11 ernment, any authority of the Federal Government, State, 

12 or political subdivision of a State to the Attorney General. 

13 (b) INVESTIGATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Upon 

14 receiving a report of an alleged violation, the Attorney 

15 General shall conduct an investigation to determine wheth16 er a violation exists. 

17 (c) NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION.—If the Attorney 

18 General concludes that a violation does exist, then the At19 torney General shall notify the Federal Government, au20 thority of the Federal Government, State, or political sub21 division of a State that the Attorney General has deter22 mined that it is in violation of the Act. The notification 

23 shall further provide that the Federal Government, State, 

24 or political subdivision of a State has 90 days from the 

25 date of the notification to demonstrate to the Attorney 

26 General either that: (1) it is not in violation of the Act; 


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1 or (2) that it has cured its violation by returning all real 

2 property the taking of which the Attorney General finds 

3 to have constituted a violation of the Act and replacing 

4 any other property destroyed and repairing any other 

5 property damaged as a result of such violation. 

6 (d) ATTORNEY GENERAL’S BRINGING OF ACTION TO

7 ENFORCE ACT.—If, at the end of the 90-day period de8 scribed in subsection (c), the Attorney General determines 

9 that the Federal Government, authority of the Federal 

10 Government, State, or political subdivision of a State is 

11 still violating the Act or has not cured its violation as de12 scribed in subsection (c), then the Attorney General will 

13 bring an action to enforce the Act unless the property 

14 owner or tenant who reported the violation has already 

15 brought an action to enforce the Act. In such a case, the 

16 Attorney General shall intervene if it determines that 

17 intervention is necessary in order to enforce the Act. The 

18 Attorney General may file its lawsuit to enforce the Act 

19 in the appropriate Federal or State court. A State shall 

20 not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the Con21 stitution of the United States from any such action in a 

22 Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction. In such 

23 action, the defendant has the burden to show by clear and 

24 convincing evidence that the taking is not for economic 

25 development. The Attorney General may seek any approVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 24, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1689.RH H1689

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1 priate relief through a preliminary injunction or a tem2 porary restraining order. 

3 (e) LIMITATION ON BRINGING ACTION.—An action 

4 brought by the Attorney General under this Act may be 

5 brought if the property is used for economic development 

6 following the conclusion of any condemnation proceedings 

7 condemning the property of an owner or tenant who re8 ports a violation of the Act to the Attorney General, but 

9 shall not be brought later than seven years following the 

10 conclusion of any such proceedings. 

11 (f) ATTORNEYS’ FEE AND OTHER COSTS.—In any 

12 action or proceeding under this Act brought by the Attor13 ney General, the court shall, if the Attorney General is 

14 a prevailing plaintiff, award the Attorney General a rea15 sonable attorneys’ fee as part of the costs, and include 

16 expert fees as part of the attorneys’ fee. 

17 SEC. 6. NOTIFICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

18 (a) NOTIFICATION TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUB19 DIVISIONS.— 

20 (1) Not later than 30 days after the enactment 

21 of this Act, the Attorney General shall provide to the 

22 chief executive officer of each State the text of this 

23 Act and a description of the rights of property own24 ers and tenants under this Act. 


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1 (2) Not later than 120 days after the enact2 ment of this Act, the Attorney General shall compile 

3 a list of the Federal laws under which Federal eco4 nomic development funds are distributed. The Attor5 ney General shall compile annual revisions of such 

6 list as necessary. Such list and any successive revi7 sions of such list shall be communicated by the At8 torney General to the chief executive officer of each 

9 State and also made available on the Internet 

10 website maintained by the United States Depart11 ment of Justice for use by the public and by the au12 thorities in each State and political subdivisions of 

13 each State empowered to take private property and 

14 convert it to public use subject to just compensation 

15 for the taking. 

16 (b) NOTIFICATION TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND TEN17 ANTS.—Not later than 30 days after the enactment of this 

18 Act, the Attorney General shall publish in the Federal 

19 Register and make available on the Internet website main20 tained by the United States Department of Justice a no21 tice containing the text of this Act and a description of 

22 the rights of property owners and tenants under this Act. 

23 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

24 (a) BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every subseVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Jul 24, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1689.RH H1689

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1 quent year thereafter, the Attorney General shall transmit 

2 a report identifying States or political subdivisions that 

3 have used eminent domain in violation of this Act to the 

4 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 

5 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and to the 

6 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 

7 Judiciary of the Senate. The report shall— 

8 (1) identify all private rights of action brought 

9 as a result of a State’s or political subdivision’s vio10 lation of this Act; 

11 (2) identify all violations reported by property 

12 owners and tenants under section 5(c) of this Act; 

13 (3) identify the percentage of minority residents 

14 compared to the surrounding nonminority residents 

15 and the median incomes of those impacted by a vio16 lation of this Act; 

17 (4) identify all lawsuits brought by the Attorney 

18 General under section 5(d) of this Act; 

19 (5) identify all States or political subdivisions 

20 that have lost Federal economic development funds 

21 as a result of a violation of this Act, as well as de22 scribe the type and amount of Federal economic de23 velopment funds lost in each State or political sub24 division and the Agency that is responsible for with25 holding such funds; and 


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1 (6) discuss all instances in which a State or po2 litical subdivision has cured a violation as described 

3 in section 2(c) of this Act. 

4 (b) DUTY OF STATES.—Each State and local author5 ity that is subject to a private right of action under this 

6 Act shall have the duty to report to the Attorney General 

7 such information with respect to such State and local au8 thorities as the Attorney General needs to make the report 

9 required under subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING RURAL AMERICA. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) The founders realized the fundamental im13 portance of property rights when they codified the 

14 Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Con15 stitution, which requires that private property shall 

16 not be taken ‘‘for public use, without just compensa17 tion’’. 

18 (2) Rural lands are unique in that they are not 

19 traditionally considered high tax revenue-generating 

20 properties for State and local governments. In addi21 tion, farmland and forest land owners need to have 

22 long-term certainty regarding their property rights 

23 in order to make the investment decisions to commit 

24 land to these uses. 


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1 (3) Ownership rights in rural land are funda2 mental building blocks for our Nation’s agriculture 

3 industry, which continues to be one of the most im4 portant economic sectors of our economy. 

5 (4) In the wake of the Supreme Court’s deci6 sion in Kelo v. City of New London, abuse of emi7 nent domain is a threat to the property rights of all 

8 private property owners, including rural land own9 ers. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the use of eminent domain for the purpose of 

12 economic development is a threat to agricultural and other 

13 property in rural America and that the Congress should 

14 protect the property rights of Americans, including those 

15 who reside in rural areas. Property rights are central to 

16 liberty in this country and to our economy. The use of 

17 eminent domain to take farmland and other rural property 

18 for economic development threatens liberty, rural econo19 mies, and the economy of the United States. The taking 

20 of farmland and rural property will have a direct impact 

21 on existing irrigation and reclamation projects. Further22 more, the use of eminent domain to take rural private 

23 property for private commercial uses will force increasing 

24 numbers of activities from private property onto this Na25 tion’s public lands, including its National forests, National 


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1 parks and wildlife refuges. This increase can overburden 

2 the infrastructure of these lands, reducing the enjoyment 

3 of such lands for all citizens. Americans should not have 

4 to fear the government’s taking their homes, farms, or 

5 businesses to give to other persons. Governments should 

6 not abuse the power of eminent domain to force rural 

7 property owners from their land in order to develop rural 

8 land into industrial and commercial property. Congress 

9 has a duty to protect the property rights of rural Ameri10 cans in the face of eminent domain abuse. 

11 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the policy of the United States to encourage, 

13 support, and promote the private ownership of property 

14 and to ensure that the constitutional and other legal rights 

15 of private property owners are protected by the Federal 

16 Government. 

17 SEC. 10. RELIGIOUS AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 

18 (a) PROHIBITION ON STATES.—No State or political 

19 subdivision of a State shall exercise its power of eminent 

20 domain, or allow the exercise of such power by any person 

21 or entity to which such power has been delegated, over 

22 property of a religious or other nonprofit organization by 

23 reason of the nonprofit or tax-exempt status of such orga24 nization, or any quality related thereto if that State or 


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1 political subdivision receives Federal economic develop2 ment funds during any fiscal year in which it does so. 

3 (b) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.—A viola4 tion of subsection (a) by a State or political subdivision 

5 shall render such State or political subdivision ineligible 

6 for any Federal economic development funds for a period 

7 of 2 fiscal years following a final judgment on the merits 

8 by a court of competent jurisdiction that such subsection 

9 has been violated, and any Federal agency charged with 

10 distributing those funds shall withhold them for such 2- 

11 year period, and any such funds distributed to such State 

12 or political subdivision shall be returned or reimbursed by 

13 such State or political subdivision to the appropriate Fed14 eral agency or authority of the Federal Government, or 

15 component thereof. 

16 (c) PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The 

17 Federal Government or any authority of the Federal Gov18 ernment shall not exercise its power of eminent domain 

19 over property of a religious or other nonprofit organization 

20 by reason of the nonprofit or tax-exempt status of such 

21 organization, or any quality related thereto. 


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1 SEC. 11. REPORT BY FEDERAL AGENCIES ON REGULATIONS 

2 AND PROCEDURES RELATING TO EMINENT 

3 DOMAIN. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the head of each Executive department 

6 and agency shall review all rules, regulations, and proce7 dures and report to the Attorney General on the activities 

8 of that department or agency to bring its rules, regula9 tions and procedures into compliance with this Act. 

10 SEC. 12. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that any and all pre12 cautions shall be taken by the government to avoid the 

13 unfair or unreasonable taking of property away from sur14 vivors of Hurricane Katrina who own, were bequeathed, 

15 or assigned such property, for economic development pur16 poses or for the private use of others. 

17 SEC. 13. DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT. 

18 If the court determines that a violation of this Act 

19 has occurred, and that the violation has a disproportion20 ately high impact on the poor or minorities, the Attorney 

21 General shall use reasonable efforts to locate former own22 ers and tenants and inform them of the violation and any 

23 remedies they may have. 

24 SEC. 14. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act the following definitions apply: 


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1 (1) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—The term 

2 ‘‘economic development’’ means taking private prop3 erty, without the consent of the owner, and con4 veying or leasing such property from one private 

5 person or entity to another private person or entity 

6 for commercial enterprise carried on for profit, or to 

7 increase tax revenue, tax base, employment, or gen8 eral economic health, except that such term shall not 

9 include— 

10 (A) conveying private property— 

11 (i) to public ownership, such as for a 

12 road, hospital, airport, or military base; 

13 (ii) to an entity, such as a common 

14 carrier, that makes the property available 

15 to the general public as of right, such as 

16 a railroad or public facility; 

17 (iii) for use as a road or other right 

18 of way or means, open to the public for 

19 transportation, whether free or by toll; and 

20 (iv) for use as an aqueduct, flood con21 trol facility, pipeline, or similar use; 

22 (B) removing harmful uses of land pro23 vided such uses constitute an immediate threat 

24 to public health and safety; 


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1 (C) leasing property to a private person or 

2 entity that occupies an incidental part of public 

3 property or a public facility, such as a retail es4 tablishment on the ground floor of a public 

5 building; 

6 (D) acquiring abandoned property; 

7 (E) clearing defective chains of title; 

8 (F) taking private property for use by a 

9 utility providing electric, natural gas, tele10 communication, water, wastewater, or other 

11 utility services either directly to the public or 

12 indirectly through provision of such services at 

13 the wholesale level for resale to the public; and 

14 (G) redeveloping of a brownfield site as de15 fined in the Small Business Liability Relief and 

16 Brownfields Revitalization Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 9601(39)). 

18 (2) FEDERAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

19 FUNDS.—The term ‘‘Federal economic development 

20 funds’’ means any Federal funds distributed to or 

21 through States or political subdivisions of States 

22 under Federal laws designed to improve or increase 

23 the size of the economies of States or political sub24 divisions of States. 


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1 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

3 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other terri4 tory or possession of the United States. 

5 SEC. 15. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION. 

6 Nothing in this Act may be construed to supersede, 

7 limit, or otherwise affect any provision of the Uniform Re8 location Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies 

9 Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 16. BROAD CONSTRUCTION. 

11 This Act shall be construed in favor of a broad pro12 tection of private property rights, to the maximum extent 

13 permitted by the terms of this Act and the Constitution. 

14 SEC. 17. SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 (a) SEVERABILITY.—The provisions of this Act are 

16 severable. If any provision of this Act, or any application 

17 thereof, is found unconstitutional, that finding shall not 

18 affect any provision or application of the Act not so adju19 dicated. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect 

21 upon the first day of the first fiscal year that begins after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, but shall not apply 

23 to any project for which condemnation proceedings have 

24 been initiated prior to the date of enactment. 


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Union Calendar No. 666 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1689 

[Report No. 115–859] 

A BILL 

To protect private property rights. 

JULY 23, 2018 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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