[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 145 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 145

 To provide appropriate protection for the Constitutional guarantee of 
            private property rights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 4, 1995

   Mr. Gramm (for himself, Mr. Lott, Mr. Burns, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. 
 Thomas, and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following bill; which was read 
      twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide appropriate protection for the Constitutional guarantee of 
            private property rights, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Private Property Rights Restoration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS RESTORATION.

    (a) Cause of Action.--(1) The owner of any real property shall have 
a cause of action against the United States if--
            (A) the application of a statute, regulation, rule, 
        guideline, or policy of the United States restricts, limits, or 
        otherwise takes a right to real property that would otherwise 
        exist in the absence of such application; and
            (B) such application described under subparagraph (A) would 
        result in a discrete and non-negligible reduction in the fair 
        market value of the affected portion of real property.
    (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), a prima facie case against 
the United States shall be established if the Government action 
described under paragraph (1)(A) results in a temporary or permanent 
diminution of fair market value of the affected portion of real 
property of the lesser of--
            (A) 25 percent or more; or
            (B) $10,000 or more.
    (b) Jurisdiction.--An action under this Act shall be filed in the 
United States Court of Federal Claims which shall have exclusive 
jurisdiction.
    (c) Recovery.--In any action filed under this Act, the owner may 
elect to recover--
            (1) a sum equal to the diminution in the fair market value 
        of the portion of the property affected by the application of a 
        statute, regulation, rule, guideline, or policy described under 
        subsection (a)(1)(A) and retain title; or
            (2) the fair market value of the affected portion of the 
        regulated property prior to the government action and 
        relinquish title to the portion of property regulated.
    (d) Public Nuisance Exception.--(1) No compensation shall be 
required by virtue of this Act if the owner's use or proposed use of 
the property amounts to a public nuisance as commonly understood and 
defined by background principles of nuisance and property law, as 
understood under the law of the State within which the property is 
situated.
    (2) To bar an award of damages under this Act, the United States 
shall have the burden of proof to establish that the use or proposed 
use of the property is a public nuisance as defined under paragraph (1) 
of this subsection.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION; STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

    (a) Application.--This Act shall apply to the application of any 
statute, regulation, rule, guideline, or policy to real property, if 
such application occurred or occurs on or after January 1, 1994.
    (b) Statute of Limitations.--The statute of limitations for actions 
brought under this Act shall be six years from the application of any 
statute, regulation, rule, guideline, or policy of the United States to 
any affected parcel of property under this Act.

SEC. 4. AWARD OF COSTS; LITIGATION COSTS.

    (a) In General.--The court, in issuing any final order in any 
action brought under this Act, shall award costs of litigation 
(including reasonable attorney and expert witness) to any prevailing 
plaintiff.
    (b) Payment.--All awards or judgments for plaintiff, including 
recovery for damages and costs of litigation, shall be paid out of 
funds of the agency or agencies responsible for issuing the statute, 
regulation, rule, guideline or policy affecting the reduction in the 
fair market value of the affected portion of property. Payments shall 
not be made from a judgment fund.

SEC. 5. CONSTITUTIONAL OR STATUTORY RIGHTS NOT RESTRICTED.

    Nothing in this Act shall restrict any remedy or any right which 
any person (or class of persons) may have under any provision of the 
United States Constitution or any other law.
                                 <all>