Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005

H.R. 3135, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005, seeks to limit the government's power of eminent domain—the authority to take private property for public use. The bill specifically prohibits state and local governments from seizing private land for "economic development" purposes, such as transferring property to a private developer to increase tax revenue, if the project receives any federal funding. Under this legislation, states that violate this rule would lose access to federal economic development funds, and the federal government itself would be barred from using eminent domain solely for economic development.