I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3315
To amend title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 
to withhold community development block grant funds from States and 
communities that do not prohibit the use of the power of eminent 
domain that involves the taking of the property from private persons 
for commercial or economic development purposes and transfer of the 
property to other private persons. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2005
Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. NEY, and Mr. BACHUS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend title I of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1974 to withhold community development 
block grant funds from States and communities that 
do not prohibit the use of the power of eminent domain 
that involves the taking of the property from private 
persons for commercial or economic development pur-
poses and transfer of the property to other private per-
sons.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN TO 
OBTAIN PROPERTY FOR COMMERCIAL DE-
VELOPMENT BY PRIVATE PERSONS. 
Title I of the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1974 is amended—
(1) in section 104 (42 U.S.C. 5304)—
(A) in subsection (b)—
(i) in paragraph (5), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 
paragraph (7); and 
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (5) 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) the grantee (or, in the case of a grantee 
that is a unit of general local government, the State 
in which such unit is located) has in effect laws, reg-
ulations, or policies referred to in paragraph (1) or 
(2), as appropriate, of subsection (n); and’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(n) PROHIBITION ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN TO 
OBTAIN PROPERTY FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT BY 
PRIVATE PERSONS.—
‘‘(1) UNITS
OF
GENERAL
LOCAL
GOVERN-
MENT.—No funds made available for grants under 
section 106 for fiscal year 2006 or any fiscal year
thereafter may be obligated or expended to any unit 
of general local government unless such unit of gen-
eral local government (or the State in which such 
unit of general local government is located) has in 
effect and is enforcing laws, regulations, or policies 
that prohibit the use of the power of eminent do-
main by the unit of general local government (or in 
the case of laws, regulations, or policies of a State, 
by the State and by any political subdivision of the 
State), that involves the taking of the property from 
private persons for commercial or economic develop-
ment purposes and transfer of the property to other 
private persons. 
‘‘(2) STATES
AND
OTHER
GRANTEES.—No 
funds made available for grants under section 106 
for fiscal year 2006 or any fiscal year thereafter 
may be obligated or expended to any State, Indian 
tribe, or insular area unless such State, Indian tribe, 
or insular area has in effect and is enforcing laws, 
regulations, or policies that prohibit the use of the 
power of eminent domain by such State and by any 
political subdivision of the State, such Indian tribe, 
or such insular area, respectively, that involves the 
taking of the property from private persons for com-
mercial or economic development purposes and
transfer of the property to other private persons.’’; 
and 
(2) in section 106 (42 U.S.C. 5306)—
(A) in the last sentence of subsection 
(a)(1), by striking ‘‘and (k)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(k), and (n)(2)’’; 
(B) in subsection (c), in the first sentence 
of paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or (d)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(d), or (n)(2)’’; and 
(C) in subsection (d)(3)(C), by striking ‘‘or 
(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d), or (n)(1)’’.
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