So this bill would effectively overturn
Kelo v. City of New London, the case which ruled that governments could take private land under eminent domain and then transfer that land to another private person if doing so has a "public purpose." In this particular case, the government wanted to take private land and then give it to a shopping mall developer on the argument that it would increase property values, and therefore property taxes. Prior to
Kelo, the government could only force a person to sell their property against their wishes if it was for a specific public use.
The federal government, as well as Lincoln and the Southern governments, have reformed their eminent domain laws to prevent similar abuses from taking place.