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Latest Action: 01/04/2007 - Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S134)

Bill Text
A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to acquire land for the purposes of expanding Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, and for other purposes.

1/4/2007--Introduced.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to acquire land near Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site for the purpose of expanding the Site.

Prohibits any acquisition that would require the exercise of eminent domain by a federal or state entity.

Latest Action: 01/04/2007 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Bill Text
A bill to return meaning to the Fifth Amendment by limiting the power of eminent domain. 1/4/2007--Introduced. Private Property Rights Protection Act - Makes ineligible for federal funds any condemning authority or acquiring party that engages or participates in a taking or condemnation of any real property interest not for a public use or public purpose using the power of eminent domain, without the owner's consent. Requires any entity applying for federal funds to certify eligibility. Allows the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to audit any condemning authority or acquiring party that has made such a certification. Allows a property owner who is notified that his or her property will be taken to file for and attach a Fifth Amendment property protection statement (PPS) indicating that the condemning entity is exceeding its authority, which shall prohibit any acquiring party from claiming any benefit, deduction, or tax credit related to any activities [...]

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Latest Action: 01/05/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Bill Text
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to impose limitations on wetlands mitigation activities carried out through the condemnation of private property.

1/4/2007--Introduced.

Rural America Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Army or a state from issuing a permit to a governmental entity for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters where Act compliance is based on a permit condition requiring mitigation of adverse impacts to wetlands through the acquisition of private property if the property is: (1) being acquired by condemnation; and (2) located outside a certain U.S. Geological Survey cataloging unit in which the wetland is located.

Allows issuance of such a permit upon payment of compensation equaling or exceeding the property's fair market value or the average fair market value of a parcel the size of the property in the cataloging unit in which the wetland is located.

Latest Action: 05/08/2007 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Bill Text
To amend the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Act to provide compensation to members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for damage resulting from the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project, and for other purposes. 5/7/2007--Passed House without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Amendments Act of 2007 - Amends the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Act to make member landowners eligible for the additional financial compensation provided to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for the acquisition by the federal government of 104,492 acres of land of the Tribe and member landowners for the Oahe Dam and Reservoir project. Defines "member landowner" as a member of the Tribe (or an heir of such a member) that owned land on the Cheyenne [...]

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Latest Action: 02/06/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.

Bill Text
To repeal section 216 of the Federal Power Act (as added by the Energy Policy Act of 2005) providing for the use of eminent domain authority for the construction of certain electric power lines, and for other purposes.

2/5/2007--Introduced.

Amends the Federal Power Act, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to repeal provisions regarding the siting of interstate electric transmission facilities, including: (1) the designation of national interest electric transmission corridors; (2) issuance of permits for the construction or modification of such facilities; (3) acqusition by a permit holder of rights-of-way for such a facility through the exercise of eminent domain in a federal district court; and (4) the consent of Congress to interstate compacts for establishment of regional transmission siting agencies.

Latest Action: 02/06/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.

Bill Text
To amend certain provisions of the Federal Power Act added by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 relating to the use of eminent domain authority for the construction of electric power lines, and for other purposes. 2/5/2007--Introduced. Protecting Communities from Power Line Abuse Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to repeal provisions regarding: (1) mandatory fair market value compensation for right-of-way acquisitions; (2) transmission facility modifications in accordance with state law; and (3) requirements for coordination of federal authorizations for interstate electric transmission facilities, including authorization to file an appeal with the President regarding denial of an application for such an authorization. Modifies requirements for acquisition of rights-of-way for electric transmission facilities located on property other than federal or state property. Provides that, if the permit holder cannot acquire by contract, or is unable to agree upon compensation [...]

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Latest Action: 02/06/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.

Bill Text
To amend the Federal Power Act to make certain changes in provisions relating to National Interest Transmission Corridors, and for other purposes. 2/5/2007--Introduced. National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor Clarification Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to revise the factors the Secretary of Energy may consider in determining whether to designate a national interest electric transmission corridor. Authorizes the Secretary to consider whether the designation would have potential impacts on natural values and special places considered to be in the national interest. Repeals authority to consider whether designation would serve U.S. energy independence. Directs the Secretary, before a corridor designation, to analyze all alternatives measures that could address energy transmission constraints or congestion. Prohibits a corridor designation from encompassing, within one mile of their respective boundaries, lands on which development is prohibited [...]

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Latest Action: 06/05/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.

Bill Text
To prohibit the provision of Federal economic development assistance for any State or locality that uses the power of eminent domain power to obtain property for private commercial development or that fails to pay relocation costs to persons displaced by use of the power of eminent domain for economic development purposes. 2/8/2007--Introduced. Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2007 or STOPP Act of 2007 - Prohibits federal financial assistance under defined federal economic development programs to a state or local government entity that: (1) uses the power of eminent domain to take property from a private entity and transfer ownership to another private entity; or (2) fails to provide, to any person displaced by the use of eminent domain for any economic development purpose, relocation assistance under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Excepts from the first clause property taken for: (1) use by a public [...]

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Latest Action: 06/28/2007 - Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 240.

Bill Text
Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes. 6/27/2007--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies for FY2008. Title I: Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for FY2008 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (3) Oregon and California grant lands; (4) range improvements; (5) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; (6) miscellaneous trust funds; and (7) wildland fire management (including transfer of funds). Appropriates funds for FY2008 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) [...]

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Latest Action: 02/07/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

Bill Text
To promote the economic development and recreational use of National Forest System lands and other public lands in central Idaho, to designate the Boulder-White Cloud Management Area to ensure the continued management of certain National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands for recreational and grazing use and conservation and resource protection, to add certain National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands in central Idaho to the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes. 1/4/2007--Introduced. Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to convey specified parcels of federal land to certain counties and cities in central Idaho. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to convey, to the state of Idaho a specified [...]

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Latest Legislation - View All

Latest Action: 09/08/2008 - Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 945.

Bill Text
Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes. 8/1/2008--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2009 - Title I: Department of Defense - Appropriates funds for FY2009 for the Department of Defense (DOD) for: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force (military departments), DOD, the Army and Air National Guard, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force reserves; (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (3) family housing construction and related operation and maintenance for the military departments and DOD; (4) the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund; (5) the Homeowners Assistance Fund; (6) chemical demilitarization construction; and (7) the Department of Defense [...]

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Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Bill Text
To amend the National Trails System Act to provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and for other purposes. 2/8/2008--Introduced. Amends the National Trails System Act to add as components of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail the following routes and land components by which the Cherokee Nation was removed to Oklahoma: (1) the Benge and Bell routes; (2) the land components of the designated water routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee; (3) the routes from the collection forts in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to the emigration depots; and (4) the related campgrounds located along such routes and land components. Bars the Secretary of the Interior from using eminent domain to acquire lands for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Requires the Secretary to only include lands in the Trail that are consistent with and appropriate [...]

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Latest Action: 09/27/2008 - Hearings Held by Subcommittee on Energy and Environment Prior to Introduction and Referral (05/15/2007)..

Bill Text
A bill to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes. 5/8/2008--House agreed to Senate amendment with amendment.    (There are 3 other summaries) American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 - Title I: FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention - FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act of 2008 - Subtitle A: Homeownership Retention - (Sec. 112) Amends the National Housing Act (NHA) to create the Refinance Program Oversight Board, which shall establish and oversee a program for insuring homeownership retention mortgages. Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure any homeownership retention mortgage covering a one- to four-family residence made to pay or prepay outstanding obligations under an existing mortgage on the residence. Sets forth mortgagor eligibility criteria, including mortgagor certification that: (1) the residence is the only residence [...]

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