WASHINGTON - Congressman Adam H. Putnam (R-Bartow) today joined with an overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives in repudiating the Supreme Court decision Kelo v. New Haven, which earlier this year limited individual property rights.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution holds that private property shall not be taken for public use with just compensation, a doctrine called eminent domain. Throughout America’s history, "public use" has been defined as something that benefits the public, such as a road or highway. 

Homeowners in a working-class neighborhood in New London, Connecticut, filed suit after city officials announced plans to raze their homes for a commercial development consisting of a riverfront hotel, health club and offices. While the use is obviously private, city officials claimed that the public would derive a benefit from the tax dollars that would be generated by the project. By a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court agreed.

“Legal scholars agree that Kelo was wrongly decided by the Court,” said Putnam, who earlier in the year supported a resolution condemning the decision. “If left unchecked, the Court’s decision would leave the door open for any state or local government to seize a person’s property for almost any reason.”

H.R. 4128, the Private Property Protection Act, declares that no State or political subdivision of a State shall exercise its power of eminent domain over property to be used for economic development if the State or political subdivision receives Federal economic development funds during any fiscal year in which it does so. The bill was approved by a bipartisan vote of 376-38.

“The right to private property is one of our most cherished freedoms,” Putnam concluded.   “While it is difficult to overturn a Court decision, this legislation goes as far as possible in restricting its impact.”