Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 738 To protect private property rights. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 23, 2019 Mr. SENSENBRENNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To protect private property rights. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Private Property 4 Rights Protection Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE BY 6 STATES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—No State or political subdivision 8 of a State shall exercise its power of eminent domain, or 9 allow the exercise of such power by any person or entity 10 to which such power has been delegated, over property to 11 be used for economic development or over property that 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 738 IH is used for economic development within 7 years after that 1 exercise, if that State or political subdivision receives Fed- 2 eral economic development funds during any fiscal year 3 in which the property is so used or intended to be used. 4 (b) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.—A viola- 5 tion of subsection (a) by a State or political subdivision 6 shall render such State or political subdivision ineligible 7 for any Federal economic development funds for a period 8 of 2 fiscal years following a final judgment on the merits 9 by a court of competent jurisdiction that such subsection 10 has been violated, and any Federal agency charged with 11 distributing those funds shall withhold them for such 2- 12 year period, and any such funds distributed to such State 13 or political subdivision shall be returned or reimbursed by 14 such State or political subdivision to the appropriate Fed- 15 eral agency or authority of the Federal Government, or 16 component thereof. 17 (c) OPPORTUNITY TO CURE VIOLATION.—A State or 18 political subdivision shall not be ineligible for any Federal 19 economic development funds under subsection (b) if such 20 State or political subdivision returns all real property the 21 taking of which was found by a court of competent juris- 22 diction to have constituted a violation of subsection (a) 23 and replaces any other property destroyed and repairs any 24 other property damaged as a result of such violation. In 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 738 IH addition, the State or political subdivision must pay any 1 applicable penalties and interest to reattain eligibility. 2 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE BY THE 3 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 4 The Federal Government or any authority of the Fed- 5 eral Government shall not exercise its power of eminent 6 domain to be used for economic development. 7 SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 8 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any—(1) owner of private 9 property whose property is subject to eminent domain who 10 suffers injury as a result of a violation of any provision 11 of this Act with respect to that property; or (2) any tenant 12 of property that is subject to eminent domain who suffers 13 injury as a result of a violation of any provision of this 14 Act with respect to that property, may bring an action 15 to enforce any provision of this Act in the appropriate 16 Federal or State court. A State shall not be immune under 17 the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 18 States from any such action in a Federal or State court 19 of competent jurisdiction. In such action, the defendant 20 has the burden to show by clear and convincing evidence 21 that the taking is not for economic development. Any such 22 property owner or tenant may also seek an appropriate 23 relief through a preliminary injunction or a temporary re- 24 straining order. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 738 IH (b) LIMITATION ON BRINGING ACTION.—An action 1 brought by a property owner or tenant under this Act may 2 be brought if the property is used for economic develop- 3 ment following the conclusion of any condemnation pro- 4 ceedings condemning the property of such property owner 5 or tenant, but shall not be brought later than 7 years fol- 6 lowing the conclusion of any such proceedings. 7 (c) ATTORNEY’S FEE AND OTHER COSTS.—In any 8 action or proceeding under this Act, the court shall allow 9 a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney’s fee as part 10 of the costs, and include expert fees as part of the attor- 11 ney’s fee. 12 SEC. 5. REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS TO ATTORNEY GEN- 13 ERAL. 14 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO ATTORNEY GEN- 15 ERAL.—Any—(1) owner of private property whose prop- 16 erty is subject to eminent domain who suffers injury as 17 a result of a violation of any provision of this Act with 18 respect to that property; or (2) any tenant of property that 19 is subject to eminent domain who suffers injury as a result 20 of a violation of any provision of this Act with respect to 21 that property, may report a violation by the Federal Gov- 22 ernment, any authority of the Federal Government, State, 23 or political subdivision of a State to the Attorney General. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 738 IH (b) INVESTIGATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Upon 1 receiving a report of an alleged violation, the Attorney 2 General shall conduct an investigation to determine wheth- 3 er a violation exists. 4 (c) NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION.—If the Attorney 5 General concludes that a violation does exist, then the At- 6 torney General shall notify the Federal Government, au- 7 thority of the Federal Government, State, or political sub- 8 division of a State that the Attorney General has deter- 9 mined that it is in violation of the Act. The notification 10 shall further provide that the Federal Government, State, 11 or political subdivision of a State has 90 days from the 12 date of the notification to demonstrate to the Attorney 13 General either that: (1) it is not in violation of the Act; 14 or (2) that it has cured its violation by returning all real 15 property the taking of which the Attorney General finds 16 to have constituted a violation of the Act and replacing 17 any other property destroyed and repairing any other 18 property damaged as a result of such violation. 19 (d) ATTORNEY GENERAL’S BRINGING OF ACTION TO 20 ENFORCE ACT.—If, at the end of the 90-day period de- 21 scribed in subsection (c), the Attorney General determines 22 that the Federal Government, authority of the Federal 23 Government, State, or political subdivision of a State is 24 still violating the Act or has not cured its violation as de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 738 IH scribed in subsection (c), then the Attorney General will 1 bring an action to enforce the Act unless the property 2 owner or tenant who reported the violation has already 3 brought an action to enforce the Act. In such a case, the 4 Attorney General shall intervene if it determines that 5 intervention is necessary in order to enforce the Act. The 6 Attorney General may file its lawsuit to enforce the Act 7 in the appropriate Federal or State court. A State shall 8 not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the Con- 9 stitution of the United States from any such action in a 10 Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction. In such 11 action, the defendant has the burden to show by clear and 12 convincing evidence that the taking is not for economic 13 development. The Attorney General may seek any appro- 14 priate relief through a preliminary injunction or a tem- 15 porary restraining order. 16 (e) LIMITATION ON BRINGING ACTION.—An action 17 brought by the Attorney General under this Act may be 18 brought if the property is used for economic development 19 following the conclusion of any condemnation proceedings 20 condemning the property of an owner or tenant who re- 21 ports a violation of the Act to the Attorney General, but 22 shall not be brought later than 7 years following the con- 23 clusion of any such proceedings. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 738 IH (f) ATTORNEY’S FEE AND OTHER COSTS.—In any 1 action or proceeding under this Act brought by the Attor- 2 ney General, the court shall, if the Attorney General is 3 a prevailing plaintiff, award the Attorney General a rea- 4 sonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs, and include 5 expert fees as part of the attorney’s fee. 6 SEC. 6. NOTIFICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 7 (a) NOTIFICATION TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUB- 8 DIVISIONS.— 9 (1) Not later than 30 days after the enactment 10 of this Act, the Attorney General shall provide to the 11 chief executive officer of each State the text of this 12 Act and a description of the rights of property own- 13 ers and tenants under this Act. 14 (2) Not later than 120 days after the enact- 15 ment of this Act, the Attorney General shall compile 16 a list of the Federal laws under which Federal eco- 17 nomic development funds are distributed. The Attor- 18 ney General shall compile annual revisions of such 19 list as necessary. Such list and any successive revi- 20 sions of such list shall be communicated by the At- 21 torney General to the chief executive officer of each 22 State and also made available on the internet 23 website maintained by the United States Depart- 24 ment of Justice for use by the public and by the au- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 738 IH thorities in each State and political subdivisions of 1 each State empowered to take private property and 2 convert it to public use subject to just compensation 3 for the taking. 4 (b) NOTIFICATION TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND TEN- 5 ANTS.—Not later than 30 days after the enactment of this 6 Act, the Attorney General shall publish in the Federal 7 Register and make available on the Internet website main- 8 tained by the United States Department of Justice a no- 9 tice containing the text of this Act and a description of 10 the rights of property owners and tenants under this Act. 11 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 12 (a) BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 13 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every subse- 14 quent year thereafter, the Attorney General shall transmit 15 a report identifying States or political subdivisions that 16 have used eminent domain in violation of this Act to the 17 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 18 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and to the 19 Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 20 Judiciary of the Senate. The report shall— 21 (1) identify all private rights of action brought 22 as a result of a State’s or political subdivision’s vio- 23 lation of this Act; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 738 IH (2) identify all violations reported by property 1 owners and tenants under section 5(c) of this Act; 2 (3) identify the percentage of minority residents 3 compared to the surrounding nonminority residents 4 and the median incomes of those impacted by a vio- 5 lation of this Act; 6 (4) identify all lawsuits brought by the Attorney 7 General under section 5(d) of this Act; 8 (5) identify all States or political subdivisions 9 that have lost Federal economic development funds 10 as a result of a violation of this Act, as well as de- 11 scribe the type and amount of Federal economic de- 12 velopment funds lost in each State or political sub- 13 division and the Agency that is responsible for with- 14 holding such funds; and 15 (6) discuss all instances in which a State or po- 16 litical subdivision has cured a violation as described 17 in section 2(c) of this Act. 18 (b) DUTY OF STATES.—Each State and local author- 19 ity that is subject to a private right of action under this 20 Act shall have the duty to report to the Attorney General 21 such information with respect to such State and local au- 22 thorities as the Attorney General needs to make the report 23 required under subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 738 IH SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING RURAL AMERICA. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The founders realized the fundamental im- 3 portance of property rights when they codified the 4 Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Con- 5 stitution, which requires that private property shall 6 not be taken ‘‘for public use, without just compensa- 7 tion’’. 8 (2) Rural lands are unique in that they are not 9 traditionally considered high tax revenue-generating 10 properties for State and local governments. In addi- 11 tion, farmland and forest land owners need to have 12 long-term certainty regarding their property rights 13 in order to make the investment decisions to commit 14 land to these uses. 15 (3) Ownership rights in rural land are funda- 16 mental building blocks for our Nation’s agriculture 17 industry, which continues to be one of the most im- 18 portant economic sectors of our economy. 19 (4) In the wake of the Supreme Court’s deci- 20 sion in Kelo v. City of New London, abuse of emi- 21 nent domain is a threat to the property rights of all 22 private property owners, including rural land own- 23 ers. 24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 25 gress that the use of eminent domain for the purpose of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H738.IH H738 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 738 IH economic development is a threat to agricultural and other 1 property in rural America and that the Congress should 2 protect the property rights of Americans, including those 3 who reside in rural areas. Property rights are central to 4 liberty in this country and to our economy. The use of 5 eminent domain to take farmland and other rural property 6 for economic development threatens liberty, rural econo- 7 mies, and the economy of the United States. The taking 8 of farmland and [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]