IB 
Union Calendar No. 143 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4128 
[Report No. 109–262] 
To protect private property rights. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 25, 2005 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. WA-
TERS, Mr. BONILLA, Ms. HERSETH, Mr. DELAY, and Mr. BLUNT) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary 
OCTOBER 31, 2005 
Additional sponsors: Mr. POMBO, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BONNER, Mr. FRANKS 
of Arizona, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. GRAVES, Mr. POE, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, 
Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. BAKER, Mr. 
BARROW, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CANNON, Mr. CARTER, Mrs. JO 
ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mrs. DRAKE, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. 
HERGER, Mr. WAMP, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. PENCE, 
Mr. JENKINS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 
JONES of North Carolina, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. DANIEL 
E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. STEARNS, 
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 
SODREL, Mr. CAMP, Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. 
KLINE, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. OTTER, Mr. PITTS, Mr. 
WESTMORELAND, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. 
SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mrs. WILSON of 
New Mexico, Ms. FOXX, Mr. SHIMKUS, Miss MCMORRIS, Mr. WOLF, 
Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. KENNEDY of Min-
nesota, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mr. BUYER, Mr. 
GILLMOR, Mr. HALL, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. HAYES, Mr. 
RENZI, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. MACK, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. 
MARCHANT, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. WAL-
DEN of Oregon, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, 
Mr. KOLBE, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. 
DEFAZIO, Mr. WICKER, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. MCHENRY
OCTOBER 31, 2005 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 25, 2005] 
A BILL 
To protect private property rights. 
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 Rights 
Protection Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE BY 
STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No State or political subdivision 
of a State shall exercise its power of eminent domain, or 
allow the exercise of such power by any person or entity 
to which such power has been delegated, over property to 
be used for economic development or over property that is 
subsequently used for economic development, if that State 
or political subdivision receives Federal economic develop-
ment funds during any fiscal year in which it does so. 
(b) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.—A violation 
of subsection (a) by a State or political subdivision shall 
render such State or political subdivision ineligible for any
Federal economic development funds for a period of 2 fiscal 
years following a final judgment on the merits by a court 
of competent jurisdiction that such subsection has been vio-
lated, and any Federal agency charged with distributing 
those funds shall withhold them for such 2-year period, and 
any such funds distributed to such State or political sub-
division shall be returned or reimbursed by such State or 
political subdivision to the appropriate Federal agency or 
authority of the Federal Government, or component thereof. 
(c) OPPORTUNITY TO CURE VIOLATION.—A State or 
political subdivision shall not be ineligible for any Federal 
economic development funds under subsection (b) if such 
State or political subdivision returns all real property the 
taking of which was found by a court of competent jurisdic-
tion to have constituted a violation of subsection (a) and 
replaces any other property destroyed and repairs any other 
property damaged as a result of such violation. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE BY THE 
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 
The Federal Government or any authority of the Fed-
eral Government shall not exercise its power of eminent do-
main to be used for economic development. 
SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 
(a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any owner of private prop-
erty who suffers injury as a result of a violation of any
provision of this Act may bring an action to enforce any 
provision of this Act in the appropriate Federal or State 
court, and a State shall not be immune under the eleventh 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States from 
any such action in a Federal or State court of competent 
jurisdiction. Any such property owner may also seek any 
appropriate relief through a preliminary injunction or a 
temporary restraining order. 
(b) LIMITATION
ON BRINGING ACTION.—An action 
brought under this Act may be brought if the property is 
used for economic development following the conclusion of 
any condemnation proceedings condemning the private 
property of such property owner, but shall not be brought 
later than seven years following the conclusion of any such 
proceedings and the subsequent use of such condemned prop-
erty for economic development. 
(c) ATTORNEYS’ FEE AND OTHER COSTS.—In any ac-
tion or proceeding under this Act, the court shall allow a 
prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorneys’ fee as part of 
the costs, and include expert fees as part of the attorneys’ 
fee. 
SEC. 5. NOTIFICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 
(a) NOTIFICATION TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUB-
DIVISIONS.—
(1) Not later than 30 days after the enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall provide to the 
chief executive officer of each State the text of this Act 
and a description of the rights of property owners 
under this Act. 
(2) Not later than 120 days after the enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall compile a list 
of the Federal laws under which Federal economic de-
velopment funds are distributed. The Attorney Gen-
eral shall compile annual revisions of such list as nec-
essary. Such list and any successive revisions of such 
list shall be communicated by the Attorney General to 
the chief executive officer of each State and also made 
available on the Internet website maintained by the 
United States Department of Justice for use by the 
public and by the authorities in each State and polit-
ical subdivisions of each State empowered to take pri-
vate property and convert it to public use subject to 
just compensation for the taking. 
(b) NOTIFICATION TO PROPERTY OWNERS.—Not later 
than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 
General shall publish in the Federal Register and make 
available on the Internet website maintained by the United 
States Department of Justice a notice containing the text