[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3315 Introduced in House (IH)]






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 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.

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

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN TO OBTAIN PROPERTY FOR 
              COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT 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, regulations, 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 government.--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 general 
        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 domain 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 development 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 commercial 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 inserting 
                ``(d), or (n)(2)''; and
                    (C) in subsection (d)(3)(C), by striking ``or (d)'' 
                and inserting ``(d), or (n)(1)''.
                                 <all>