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Small Business Praises U.S. House Vote on Eminent Domain Legislation
NFIB strongly backed the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 3, 2005 - The National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small-business advocacy group, today praised the overwhelming vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of legislation designed to prevent the federal government from abusing eminent domain powers and to bar states from using federal money in economic development projects where eminent domain is similarly abused.

U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.-5th Dist.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced H.R. 4128, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005, in June in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo decision. The bill gained 97 bipartisan cosponsors and passed today with a bipartisan 376-38 vote.

“This is a crucial victory in the fight to safeguard America’s small-business owners against the abuse of eminent domain,” said NFIB Executive Vice President Dan Danner. “For many small businesses that only net $40,000 to $60,000 a year, their business property is their biggest asset. We need to eliminate the threat of government entities abusing the power of eminent domain to force owners off of their properties, and the passage of H.R. 4128 is an important step toward this goal. Small-business owners urge the members of the Senate to follow the lead of their colleagues in the House and pass this vital legislation.”

This summer, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Kelo v. City of New London, granting local governments the power to seize private property in the name of economic development. The Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005 prohibits the federal government from using economic development as a justification for applying its power of eminent domain. The bill also outlines a detailed and clear definition for the term “economic development” to avoid any ambiguity in the term’s meaning.

Ina recent survey, the majority of NFIB’s small-business members (77 percent) said that the government’s power of eminent domain should be restricted to public uses.

In summary, H.R. 4128, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005:

· Prohibits the federal government or any authority of the federal government from using economic development as a justification for exercising its power of eminent domain.

· Prevents states or political subdivisions from using economic development as a justification for taking land whenever federal funds would be used for any project in which the state’s power of eminent domain is exercised; or the exercise and enforcement of eminent domain over any such project.

· Defines “economic development” as any activity other than making private property available for use by the general public or as a public facility, or to remove harmful effects.

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The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s largest small-business advocacy group. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals.