Federal Declaration of Taking Act of 1931

Long title	An Act to expedite the construction of public buildings and works outside of the District of Columbia by enabling possession and title of sites to be taken in advance of final judgment in proceedings for the acquisition thereof under the power of eminent domain.
Acronyms (colloquial)	DTA
Nicknames	Declaration of Taking
Enacted by	the 71st United States Congress
Effective	February 26, 1931
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 71–736
Statutes at Large	46 Stat. 1421
Codification
Titles amended	40 U.S.C.: Public Buildings, Properties, and Public Works
U.S.C. sections created	40 U.S.C. ch. 31, subch. II §§ 3114, 3115, 3116, 3118
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 14255 Signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on February 26, 1931
United States Supreme Court cases
Kohl v. United States (1875) United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railroad Company (1896) Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago (1897) Berman v. Parker (1954) Penn Central v. New York City (1978) Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (1984)

Federal Declaration of Taking Act of 1931 is a federal statute granting the federal government power to acquire private land for public use purposes in the United States, a process known as eminent domain. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution's "Takings Clause" limits government over-reach by obliging the government body concerned award "just compensation" to a property owner relinquishing private property for public use purposes.^[1]

The 71st Congressional session codified the regulatory taking clause of the constitutional law with the passage of the H.R. 14255 bill. The legislation was enacted into law by the 31st President of the United States Herbert Hoover on February 26, 1931.

The public property acquisition act was penned as five sections facilitating the transfer of private property appropriated for public use purposes in the continental United States.

• Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937
• Federal lands
• Condemnation Act of 1888
• Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act of 1934
• Eminent domain in the United States
• Ketch Ranch House (Oklahoma)
• Farm Security Administration
• Protected areas of the United States

• Lewis, John (1888). A Treatise on the Law of Eminent Domain in the United States. Chicago, Illinois: Callaghan & Company. LCCN 13010152. OCLC 1668306.
• Nichols, Philip (1917). The Law of Eminent Domain; A Treatise on the Principles which Affect the Taking of Property for the Public Use. Vol. I. Albany, New York: Matthew Bender & Company. OCLC 43697002 – via Internet Archive.
• Nichols, Philip (1917). The Law of Eminent Domain; A Treatise on the Principles which Affect the Taking of Property for the Public Use. Vol. II. Albany, New York: Matthew Bender & Company. OCLC 43697002 – via Internet Archive.
• Epstein, Richard Allen (1985). Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674036550. OCLC 12079263.
• Paul, Ellen Frankel (1987). Property Rights and Eminent Domain. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Books. ISBN 978-0887380945. OCLC 14165014.

• "Federal Land Acquisition Act of 1930 ~ P.L. 71-467" (PDF). 46 Stat. 828, Chapter 710 ~ Senate Bill 3068. USLaw.Link. June 28, 1930.
• "Anatomy of a Condemnation Case". Environment and Natural Resources Division. United States Department of Justice.
• "History of the Federal Use of Eminent Domain". Environment and Natural Resources Division. United States Department of Justice.
• "Land Acquisition: Where Our Cases Have Taken Us". Environment and Natural Resources Division. United States Department of Justice.