What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Official syllabus topic | Land Use Controls and Regulations: Government Rights in Land |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Land Use Controls and Regulations |
| Published weight | 5% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Police power | Eminent domain | Taxation | Escheat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Protect health, safety, morals, and general welfare | Acquire private property for public use | Raise public revenue and secure taxes | Prevent ownerless property |
| Example | Zoning and building codes | Taking land for a highway | Ad valorem property tax and tax lien | Owner dies without legal heirs |
| Compensation | Ordinary valid regulation is not automatically compensable | Just compensation required for a taking | No compensation for a lawfully imposed tax | Succession rule, not a compensated taking |
| Mnemonic letter | P | E | T | E |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A city limits building height throughout a district to protect fire safety and neighborhood planning.
Reason it through. The city regulates land use rather than acquiring title, collecting tax, or inheriting property.
Answer. The action is an exercise of police power.
Common exam traps
- Calling every value reduction a taking
- Confusing tax liens with eminent domain
- Using escheat for abandoned-looking property
- Memorizing PETE without classifying the action
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1The state transportation department acquires a strip of a family's front yard to widen a highway and pays the owners fair market value. Which government power is being used?
- A. Police power
- B. Escheat
- C. Eminent domain
- D. Taxation
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Eminent domain
Eminent domain is the power to take private property for public use with just compensation. The state is acquiring title and paying for it. Police power is wrong because it regulates use without taking the land.
Question 2A Georgia resident dies with no will and no legal heirs, owning a house in Macon. What happens to the house?
- A. It passes to the state by escheat
- B. The county takes it by eminent domain
- C. It becomes public land under police power
- D. A neighbor may claim it by using it
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. It passes to the state by escheat
Escheat transfers property to the state when no legal successor exists. Nothing is being condemned or regulated, so eminent domain and police power do not fit. A neighbor's informal use of the house does not transfer title to the neighbor.
Question 3A city adopts a building code requiring fire sprinklers in all new apartment buildings. A developer argues the city must pay for the extra cost. Which statement is correct?
- A. The city must pay, because the code is a taking
- B. No payment is owed for a valid police-power regulation
- C. The city must pay, because compliance works like a tax
- D. No payment is owed, because the land escheats
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. No payment is owed for a valid police-power regulation
Building codes are an exercise of police power to protect health and safety, and an ordinary valid regulation is not automatically compensable. The city is regulating, not taking title. Calling every cost or value loss a taking is the trap.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Variance Versus Special Use Versus Nonconforming Use. Zoning is the police power at work, and Variance Versus Special Use Versus Nonconforming Use shows the three ways an owner gets relief from a zoning rule, approval under it, or protection for a use that predates it.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Land Use Controls and Regulations hub.