[House Report 109-266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    109-266

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   PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4128, PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS 
                         PROTECTION ACT OF 2005

                                _______
                                

  November 2, 2005.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Gingrey, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 527]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 527, by a non-record 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 consideration of H.R. 4128, the 
Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005, under a 
structured rule. The rule provides 90 minutes of general debate 
with 60 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary 
and 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Agriculture.
    The rule waives all points of order against consideration 
of the bill. The rule provides that the amendment in the nature 
of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary 
now printed in the bill shall be considered as an original bill 
for the purpose of amendment and shall be considered as read.
    The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in 
this report. The rule provides that the amendments printed in 
the report may be considered 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 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.
    Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or 
without instructions.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    The Committee is not aware of any points of order against 
consideration of the bill. The waiver of all points of order 
against consideration of the bill is prophylactic in nature.

                  SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    (Summaries derived from information provided by sponsors.)
    1. Sensenbrenner: Manager's Amendment. Makes clear that 
private roads that are open to the public, free or by toll, and 
flood control facilities are covered under the exceptions to 
the bill. Also includes a savings clause making clear that 
nothing in the legislation shall be construed to affect the 
Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 
Policies Act of 1970 (which requires the Federal government to 
pay the displacement costs of those adversely affected by the 
Federal government's exercise of eminent domain). Also 
incorporates into the bill's Sense of Congress section some 
language provided by the Resources Committee regarding the 
effect of the abuse of eminent domain on irrigation and 
reclamation projects, and on public lands. (10 minutes)
    2. Nadler: Allows a property owner to go to court before 
the property is taken in order to obtain declaratory or 
injunctive relief if the taking violates the Act. The bill 
currently only allows a property owner to obtain a preliminary 
injunction or temporary restraining order, and does not allow 
the property owner to bring an action until after the 
conclusion of the condemnation proceedings. The amendment would 
also strike the penalties portion of the bill. (10 minutes)
    3. Granger: Strikes language in section 2, lines 12 and 13, 
which would prevent excess land from a completed public project 
from being put back on the tax rolls. (10 minutes)
    4. Sodrel: Clarifies that in any proceeding to prevent or 
remedy a taking, that the burden is on the state or agency to 
show that it is not for economic development as defined in the 
Act. Also requires a heightened standard of proof--clear and 
convincing--that the use fits one of the exceptions to economic 
development as defined in the Act. (10 minutes)
    5. Moran (VA): Clarifies the property conveyance for the 
definition of ``economic development,'' specifies that 
increasing tax revenue must be the ``primary purpose'' of the 
taking authority, and sets a hard date of seven years that 
property holders can bring action against the taking authority. 
Also makes a number of technical corrections. (10 minutes)
    6. Turner: Enumerates several harmful uses of land which 
constitute a threat to public health and safety (i.e. 
dilapidation, obsolescence, overcrowding, lack of ventilation, 
light, and sanitary facilities, excessive land coverage, 
deleterious land use, obsolete subdivision or constitutes a 
brownfield). (10 minutes)
    7. Miller, Gary (CA)/Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX): Adds 
language to specify that the term economic development in the 
bill does not include the redevelopment of brownfield sites. 
Uses the definition of brownfield site included in the Small 
Business Liability Relief and Brownfield Revitalization Act. 
(10 minutes)
    8. Gingrey: Ads a new section to prohibit a State or 
political subdivision of a State from the exercise of eminent 
domain over the property of a religious or other nonprofit 
organization by reason of the nonprofit or tax-exempt status of 
such organization if that State or political subdivision 
received Federal economic development funds during any fiscal 
year in which it does so. This amendment also places the same 
prohibition on the Federal government. A violation of this 
provision will render the State or political subdivision 
ineligible to receive Federal economic development funds for a 
period of 2 fiscal years. (10 minutes)
    9. Cuellar: Ensures that all Federal agencies review their 
regulations and procedures for compliance with this Act. 
Requires a report to the Attorney General. (10 minutes)
    10. Jackson-Lee: Sense of Congress that expresses the 
legislative intent to protect from the taking by the Federal 
government for economic development or for private use of the 
property owned, either by assignment, intestate succession, or 
by record, by survivors of Hurricane Katrina. (10 minutes)
    11. Watt: Deletes all sections of the bill and retains only 
the sense of Congress recognizing the importance of property 
rights and that in the aftermath of the Kelo decision that 
abuses of eminent domain power may occur. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

   1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Sensenbrenner of 
          Wisconsin, or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 9, strike lines 1 through 7, and insert the following:
                  (A) conveying private property--
                          (i) to public ownership, such as for 
                        a road, hospital, airport, or military 
                        base;
                          (ii) to an entity, such as a common 
                        carrier, that makes the property 
                        available to the general public as of 
                        right, such as a railroad or public 
                        facility;
                          (iii) for use as a road or other 
                        right of way or means, open to the 
                        public for transportation, whether free 
                        or by toll;
                          (iv) for use as an aqueduct, flood 
                        control facility, pipeline, or similar 
                        use;
  Page 8, line 7, after ``States.'' insert the following: ``The 
taking of farmland and rural property will have a direct impact 
on existing irrigation and reclamation projects. Furthermore, 
the use of eminent domain to take rural private property for 
private commercial uses will force increasing numbers of 
activities from private property onto this Nation's public 
lands, including its National forests, National parks and 
wildlife refuges. This increase can overburden the 
infrastructure of these lands, reducing the enjoyment of such 
lands for all citizens.''.
  Add at the end the following new section:

SEC. __. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

   Nothing in this Act may be construed to supersede, limit, or 
otherwise affect any provision of the Uniform Relocation 
Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 
(42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.).
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Nadler of New York, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 2, line 8, strike ``(a) In General.--''.
  Page 2, strike line 16 and all that follows through line 17 
on page 3.
  Page 4, beginning in line 1, strike ``to enforce any 
provision of this Act'' and insert ``to obtain appropriate 
injunctive or declaratory relief,''.
  Page 4, beginning in line 6, strike ``Any'' and all that 
follows through line 16.
  Page 4, line 17, strike ``(c)'' and insert ``(b)''.
                              ----------                              


 3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Granger of Texas, or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 2, beginning in line 12, strike ``or over property'' and 
all that follows through ``development'' in line 13.
                              ----------                              


 4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Sodrel of Indiana, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

    Page 4, line 6, after ``jurisdiction.'' insert ``In such 
action, the defendant has the burden to show by clear and 
convincing evidence that the taking is not for economic 
development.''
                              ----------                              


 5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Moran of Virginia, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 8, strike line 17 and all that follows through line 19 
on page 9 and insert the following:
          (1) Economic development.--The term ``economic 
        development'' means taking private property, without 
        the consent of the owner, and conveying or leasing such 
        property from the taking authority to a private person 
        or entity, or from such private person or entity to 
        another private person or entity, where the grantee or 
        lessee person or entity is to use the property for 
        commercial enterprise carried on for profit, or where 
        the conveying or leasing is for the primary purpose of 
        increasing tax revenue, tax base, employment, or 
        general economic health, except that such term shall 
        not include--
                  (A) conveying private property for a public 
                use, such as--
                          (i) for a road, hospital, or military 
                        base;
                          (ii) for use by the general public as 
                        of right, such as a railroad or public 
                        facility; or
                          (iii) for use as a right of way, 
                        aqueduct, pipeline, utility or similar 
                        use;
                  (B) removing harmful uses of land provided 
                such uses constitute an immediate threat to 
                public health and safety;
                  (C) leasing property to a private person or 
                entity that occupies an incidental part of 
                public property or a public facility, such as a 
                retail establishment on the ground floor of a 
                public building;
                  (D) acquiring abandoned property; and
                  (E) clearing defective chains of title.
  Page 4, beginning in line 15, strike ``and the subsequent use 
of such condemned property for economic development''.
                              ----------                              


6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Turner of Ohio, or His 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 9, beginning in line 8, strike ``provided'' and all that 
follows through line 10 and insert ``, including a property or 
preponderance of properties which constitute a threat to public 
health and safety by reason of dilapidation, obsolescence, 
overcrowding, lack of ventilation, light, and sanitary 
facilities, excessive land coverage, deleterious land use, 
obsolete subdivisions, or because it constitutes a brownfield, 
as that term is defined in the Small Business Liability Relief 
and Brownfields Revitalization Act (42 U.S.C. 9601(39))''.
                              ----------                              


    7. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Gary Miller of 
         California, or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

    Page 9, line 17, strike ``and''.
    Page 9, line 19, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
    Page 9, after line 19, insert the following:
                  (G) redeveloping of a brownfield site as 
                defined in the Small Business Liability Relief 
                and Brownfields Revitalization Act (42 U.S.C. 
                9601(39)).
                              ----------                              


8. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Gingrey of Georgia, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following new section:

SEC. 12. RELIGIOUS AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

  (a) Prohibition on States.--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 of a religious or 
other nonprofit organization by reason of the nonprofit or tax-
exempt status of such organization, or any quality related 
thereto if that State or political subdivision receives Federal 
economic development 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 violated, 
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 subdivision 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) Prohibition on Federal Government.--The Federal 
Government or any authority of the Federal Government shall not 
exercise its power of eminent domain over property of a 
religious or other nonprofit organization by reason of the 
nonprofit or tax-exempt status of such organization, or any 
quality related thereto.
                              ----------                              


 9. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cuellar of Texas, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following:

SEC. 13. REPORT BY FEDERAL AGENCIES ON REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES 
                    RELATING TO EMINENT DOMAIN.

  Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the head of each Executive department and agency 
shall review all rules, regulations, and procedures and report 
to the Attorney General on the activities of that department or 
agency to bring its rules, regulations and procedures into 
compliance with this Act.
                              ----------                              


10. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
               or Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

  It is the sense of Congress that any and all precautions 
shall be taken by the government to avoid the unfair or 
unreasonable taking of property away from survivors of 
Hurricane Katrina who own, were bequeathed, or assigned such 
property, for economic development purposes or for the private 
use of others.
                              ----------                              


    11. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Watt of North 
          Carolina, or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 2, strike line 3 and all that follows through line 25 on 
page 6.
  Page 8, strike line 15 and all that follows through line 4 on 
page 11.
  Page 7, strike line 1 and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

                                  
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