H.R. 510 · 114th Congress
Defense of Property Rights Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
ReedSponsor8 cosponsors · 8 R
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Prohibits federal or state agencies from taking private property in whole or in part (including by physical invasion, regulation, exaction, or condition) except for public purpose and with just compensation to the property owner.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jan 22, 2015
Defense of Property Rights Act
Prohibits federal or state agencies from taking private property in whole or in part (including by physical invasion, regulation, exaction, or condition) except for public purpose and with just compensation to the property owner.
Requires a property owner to receive just compensation if, as a consequence of an agency's decision, the property has been physically invaded or taken without the owner's consent in an action that:
- does not substantially advance the stated governmental interest;
- exacts the owner's lawful right to use the property, or a portion of the property, as a condition for an agency's action (including the granting of a permit, license, or variance) without a rough proportionality between the stated need for the property and the impact of the proposed use;
- deprives the owner, either temporarily or permanently, of substantially all economically beneficial or productive use of the property, or of a part of the property, without a showing that the deprivation of value inheres in the title;
- diminishes the property's fair market value by at least 20% or $20,000; or
- constitutes any other taking within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
Includes an agency's decision that interferes with an owner's investment-backed expectations to water rights or to rents, issues, or profits of land (including minerals, timber, fodder, crops, oil and gas, coal, or geothermal energy) among the categories of actions that may require payment of just compensation.
Defines "just compensation" to include the property's fair market value, business losses, and compounded interest from the date of the taking until the agency's payment.
Allows adversely affected property owners to challenge agency actions in either a U.S. district court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (USCFC). Provides persons adversely affected by an agency action with standing to challenge or seek judicial review.
Amends the federal judicial code to allow the USCFC to: (1) render judgment upon a claim against an agency for monetary relief, (2) invalidate federal laws or regulations that violate Fifth Amendment property rights, (3) grant injunctive and declaratory relief, and (4) have concurrent jurisdiction with other courts.
Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for actions to be brought after a taking.
Requires courts to award litigation costs, attorney's fees, and expert witness fees to prevailing plaintiffs.
Allows takings disputes to be resolved through settlement or arbitration.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Defense of Property Rights Act
Latest action (Feb 19, 2015): Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Policy area: Law · Origin: House · Introduced: Jan 22, 2015
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.