I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2550
To compensate owners of private property for the effect of certain regulatory
restrictions.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 19, 1999
Mr. DELAY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To compensate owners of private property for the effect
of certain regulatory restrictions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Private Property Pro-
tection Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL POLICY AND DIRECTION.
(a) GENERAL POLICY.—It is the policy of the Federal
Government that no law or agency action should limit the
use of privately owned property so as to diminish its value.
(b) APPLICATION TO FEDERAL AGENCY ACTION.—
Each Federal agency, officer, and employee should exer-
cise Federal authority to ensure that agency action will
not limit the use of privately owned property so as to di-
minish its value.
SEC. 3. RIGHT TO COMPENSATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Government shall
compensate an owner of property whose use of any portion
of that property has been limited by an agency action,
under a specified regulatory law, that diminishes the fair
market value of that portion by 20 percent or more. The
amount of the compensation shall equal the diminution in
value that resulted from the agency action. If the diminu-
tion in value of a portion of that property is greater than
50 percent, at the option of the owner, the Federal Gov-
ernment shall buy that portion of the property for its fair
market value.
(b) DURATION OF LIMITATION ON USE.—Property
with respect to which compensation has been paid under
this Act shall not thereafter be used contrary to the limita-
tion imposed by the agency action, even if that action is
later rescinded or otherwise vitiated. However, if that ac-
tion is later rescinded or otherwise vitiated, and the owner
elects to refund the amount of the compensation, adjusted
for inflation, to the Treasury of the United States, the
property may be so used.
SEC. 4. EFFECT OF STATE LAW.
If a use is a nuisance as defined by the law of a State
or is already prohibited under a local zoning ordinance,
no compensation shall be made under this Act with respect
to a limitation on that use.
SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS.
(a) PREVENTION OF HAZARD TO HEALTH OR SAFE-
TY OR DAMAGE TO SPECIFIC PROPERTY.—No compensa-
tion shall be made under this Act with respect to an agen-
cy action the primary purpose of which is to prevent an
identifiable—
(1) hazard to public health or safety; or
(2) damage to specific property other than the
property whose use is limited.
(b) NAVIGATION
SERVITUDE.—No compensation
shall be made under this Act with respect to an agency
action pursuant to the Federal navigation servitude, as de-
fined by the courts of the United States, except to the
extent such servitude is interpreted to apply to wetlands.
SEC. 6. PROCEDURE.
(a) REQUEST OF OWNER.—An owner seeking com-
pensation under this Act shall make a written request for
compensation to the agency whose agency action resulted
a civil action against the agency. An owner who prevails
in a civil action under this section shall be entitled to, and
the agency shall be liable for, a reasonable attorney’s fee
and other litigation costs (including appraisal fees). The
court shall award interest on the amount of any compensa-
tion from the time of the limitation.
(f) SOURCE
OF PAYMENTS.—Any payment made
under this section to an owner, and any judgment obtained
by an owner in a civil action under this section shall, not-
withstanding any other provision of law, be made from the
annual appropriation of the agency whose action occa-
sioned the payment or judgment. If the agency action re-
sulted from a requirement imposed by another agency,
then the agency making the payment or satisfying the
judgment may seek partial or complete reimbursement
from the appropriated funds of the other agency. For this
purpose the head of the agency concerned may transfer
or reprogram any appropriated funds available to the
agency. If insufficient funds exist for the payment or to
satisfy the judgment, it shall be the duty of the head of
the agency to seek the appropriation of such funds for the
next fiscal year.
SEC. 7. LIMITATION.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any obli-
gation of the United States to make any payment under
this Act shall be subject to the availability of appropria-
tions.
SEC. 8. DUTY OF NOTICE TO OWNERS.
Whenever an agency takes an agency action limiting
the use of private property, the agency shall give appro-
priate notice to the owners of that property explaining
their rights under this Act and the procedures directly af-
fected for obtaining any compensation that may be due
to them under this Act.
SEC. 9. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) EFFECT ON CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO COM-
PENSATION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
limit any right to compensation that exists under the Con-
stitution or under other laws of the United States.
(b) EFFECT OF PAYMENT.—Payment of compensa-
tion under this Act (other than when the property is
bought by the Federal Government at the option of the
owner) shall not confer any rights on the Federal Govern-
ment other than the limitation on use resulting from the
agency action.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘property’’ means land and in-
cludes the right to use or receive water;
(2) a use of property is limited by an agency
action if a particular legal right to use that property
no longer exists because of the action;
(3) the term ‘‘agency action’’ has the meaning
given that term in section 551 of title 5, United
States Code, but also includes the making of a grant
to a public authority conditioned upon an action by
the recipient that would constitute a limitation if
done directly by the agency;
(4) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given
that term in section 551 of title 5, United States
Code;
(5) 
the 
term 
‘‘specified 
regulatory 
law’’
means—
(A) section 404 of the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344);
(B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
(C) title XII of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.); or
(D) with respect to an owner’s right to use
or receive water only—
(i) the Act of June 17, 1902, and all
Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary
thereto, popularly called the ‘‘Reclamation
Acts’’ (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.);
(ii) the Federal Land Policy Manage-
ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or
(iii) section 6 of the Forest and
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604);
(6) the term ‘‘fair market value’’ means the
most probable price at which property would change
hands, in a competitive and open market under all
conditions requisite to a fair sale, between a willing
buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any
compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable
knowledge of relevant facts, at the time the agency
action occurs;
(7) the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other territory or
possession of the United States; and
(8) the term ‘‘law of the State’’ includes the
law of a political subdivision of a State.
Æ