[House Report 106-525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-525

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  PROVIDING FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2372, THE PRIVATE PROPERTY 
                   RIGHTS IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 2000

                                _______
                                

   March 15, 2000.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

            Ms. Pryce of Ohio, from the Committee on Rules,
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 441]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 441, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                summary of provisions of the resolution

    The resolution provides for the consideration of H.R. 2372, 
the Private Property Rules Implementation Act of 2000, under a 
structured rule. The rule provides one hour of general debate 
divided equally between the chairman and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
    The rule makes in order the Committee on the Judiciary 
amendment in the nature of a substitute now printed in the bill 
as an original bill for the purpose of amendment. The rule also 
makes in order only those amendments printed in this report. 
Those amendments may be offered only in the order printed in 
this report, may be offered only by a Member designated in this 
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the 
time specified in this report equally divided and controlled by 
the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to 
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for a division 
of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole.
    The rule waives all points of order against the amendments 
printed in this report. The Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole may postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and 
reduce voting time to five minutes on a postponed question if 
the vote follows a fifteen minute vote. Finally, the rule 
provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

                amendments made in order under the rule

    Watt/Conyers: Amends 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1343 and other U.S. 
Code provisions to ensure uniformity in the litigation of 
constitutional claims, including those claims involving the 
uses of property. (20 minutes)
    Traficant: Perfecting amendment to Section 5 of the bill to 
clarify that the government has 14 days to notify landowners of 
their rights. (10 minutes)
    Boehlert: Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. 
Eliminates Section 2 of the bill and retains the heart of 
Sections 3 and 4 of the bill, which attempts to expedite 
takings cases in which federal (as opposed to local) actions 
are at issue. (60 minutes)
    Text of amendments made in order under the rule:

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Watt of North Carolina, 
or Representative Conyers of Michigan, or a Designee, Debatable for 20 
                                Minutes

  Page 3, beginning on line 8, strike ``in an action in which 
the operative facts concern the uses of real property''.
  Page 3, beginning on line 16, strike ``in which the operative 
facts concern the uses of real property and''.
  Page 4, line 4, strike ``property''.
  Page 4, beginning on line 16, strike ``, regarding the extent 
of permissible uses on the property that has been allegedly 
infringed or taken''.
  Page 4, line 20, strike ``to use the property''.
  Page 5, line 4, strike ``to use the property''.
  Page 5, beginning on line 6, strike ``use, density, or 
intensity or development of the property that would be 
approved, with any conditions therefor,'' and insert instead 
``reasons for such disapproval''.
  Page 6, line 19, strike ``the''.
  Page 6, line 20, strike ``of takings of property''.
  Page 7, beginning on line 1, strike ``that'' and all that 
follows through ``States,'' on line 4.
  Page 7, beginning on line 10, strike ``, regarding the extent 
of permissible uses on the property that has been allegedly 
infringed or taken''.
  Page 7, line 14, strike ``to use the property''.
  Page 7, line 16, strike ``or waiver''.
  Page 8, line 4, strike ``the''.
  Page 8, line 5, strike ``of takings of property''.
  Page 8, beginning on line 10, strike ``founded'' and all that 
follows through ``States,'' on page 8, line 12.
  Page 8, beginning on line 18, strike ``, regarding the extent 
of permissible uses on the property that has been allegedly 
infringed or taken''.
  Page 8, line 22, strike ``to use the property''.
  Page 8, line 24, strike ``or waiver''.
  Page 9, line 15, strike ``limiting the use of private 
property''.
  Page 9, line 17, strike ``owners of that property'' and 
insert instead ``party affected by such action''.

2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Traficant of Ohio, or a 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

    In section 5, after ``the agency shall'' insert ``, not 
later than 14 days after the agency takes that action,''.

 3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Boehlert of New York, 
                or a Designee, Debatable for 60 Minutes

  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Private Property Rights 
Implementation Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. UNITED STATES AS DEFENDANT.

  Section 1346 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
  ``(h)(1) Any claim brought under subsection (a) that is 
founded upon a property right or privilege secured by the 
Constitution, but was allegedly infringed or taken by the 
United States, shall be ripe for adjudication upon a final 
decision rendered by the United States, that causes actual and 
concrete injury to the party seeking redress.
  ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, a final decision 
exists if--
          ``(A) the United States makes a definitive decision 
        regarding the extent of permissible uses on the 
        property that has been allegedly infringed or taken; 
        and
          ``(B) one meaningful application, as defined by the 
        relevant department or agency, to use the property has 
        been submitted but denied, and the party seeking 
        redress has applied for but is denied one appeal or 
        waiver, where the applicable law of the United States 
        provides a mechanism for appeal to or waiver by an 
        administrative agency.
The party seeking redress shall not be required to apply for an 
appeal or waiver described in subparagraph (B) if no such 
appeal or waiver is available or if such an appeal or waiver 
would be futile.''.

SEC. 3. JURISDICTION OF COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.

  Section 1491(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
  ``(3) Any claim brought under this subsection founded upon a 
property right or privilege secured by the Constitution, but 
allegedly infringed or taken by the United States, shall be 
ripe for adjudication upon a final decision rendered by the 
United States, that causes actual and concrete injury to the 
party seeking redress. For purposes of this paragraph, a final 
decision exists if--
          ``(A) the United States makes a definitive decision 
        regarding the extent of permissible uses on the 
        property that has been allegedly infringed or taken; 
        and
          ``(B) one meaningful application, as defined by the 
        relevant department or agency, to use the property has 
        been submitted but denied, and the party seeking 
        redress has applied for but is denied one appeal or 
        waiver, where the applicable law of the United States 
        provides a mechanism for appeal or waiver.
The party seeking redress shall not be required to apply for an 
appeal or waiver described in subparagraph (B) if no such 
appeal or waiver is available or if such an appeal or waiver 
would be futile.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

  The amendments made by this Act shall apply to actions 
commenced on or after the 120th day after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

                                

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