National Land Bank Network Act
This bill requires the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to contract with a nonprofit that has relevant expertise to establish and operate (1) a membership-based national network to support the formation and operation of land banks, and (2) grant programs to support land banks and communities that are creating new land banks.
Land banks are entities designated by one or more state or local governments to acquire, steward, and dispose of vacant, abandoned, or other problem properties in accordance with locally determined priorities and goals.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2832 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2832
To require the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to establish a
national land bank network, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 25, 2023
Mr. Ferguson (for himself and Mr. Kildee) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to establish a
national land bank network, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Land Bank Network Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Vacant and abandoned properties destabilize rural,
suburban, and urban neighborhoods across the United States by
creating fire and other public safety hazards, driving down
property values, and draining local tax dollars.
(2) The cost of repairs to maintain vacant and abandoned
properties, as well as the potential unpaid taxes and public
liens on vacant and abandoned properties, often exceed the
property values of vacant and abandoned properties, driving
away purchasers.
(3) The lack of an insurable and marketable title
frequently prevents vacant and abandoned properties from
returning to productive use.
(4) Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color
disproportionately bear the burden of living near vacant and
abandoned properties and the hazards associated with those
properties.
(5) Existing property disposition practices frequently
prioritize the ease of disposition and maximizing sale prices
instead of the needs of communities and homeowners.
(6) Land banks--
(A) have been developed to respond to the
challenges posed by vacant and abandoned properties;
and
(B) are primarily focused on the return of vacant,
abandoned, and tax delinquent properties to productive
use in accordance with locally determined goals and
priorities.
(7) Land banks, regardless of the location, size of
inventory, or duration of existence of a particular land bank,
share challenges in accessing best practices, research,
technical assistance, and other resources.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that a national land bank network would
provide the tools necessary to ensure that land banks--
(1) use best practices;
(2) operate transparently;
(3) prioritize positive community outcomes;
(4) develop partnerships and programming to drive community
redevelopment forward; and
(5) access education, expertise, and research to strengthen
the critical work of land banks in supporting equitable
communities.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL LAND BANK NETWORK.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Corporation.--The term ``Corporation'' means the
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation established under the
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8101 et
seq.).
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
national nonprofit organization that has demonstrated and
established expertise--
(A) in supporting the creation, implementation, and
operation of land banks; and
(B) relating to the systems, laws, and policies
that impact vacant, abandoned, and other problem
properties.
(3) Land bank.--The term ``land bank'' means a government
entity, agency, or program, or a special purpose nonprofit
entity formed by 1 or more units of government in accordance
with a State or local land bank enabling law, that has been
designated by 1 or more State or local governments to acquire,
steward, and dispose of vacant, abandoned, or other problem
properties in accordance with locally determined priorities and
goals.
(4) Member land bank.--The term ``member land bank'' means
a rural, suburban, or urban land bank that is a member of the
national land bank network.
(5) National land bank network.--The term ``national land
bank network'' means the membership-based national land bank
network established under subsection (b)(1).
(b) National Land Bank Network.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Corporation shall enter into a
contract with an eligible entity to establish and operate--
(1) a membership-based national land bank network; and
(2) the grant programs described in subsection (d).
(c) Duties.--The duties of the national land bank network shall be
to--
(1) provide technical assistance to member land banks to
support skills training, staffing support, and other
operational capacity needs of member land banks;
(2) work with rural, suburban, and urban communities that
are considering whether a land bank would be an appropriate
tool to address vacant, abandoned, and other problem properties
in those communities;
(3) provide the communities described in paragraph (2) with
technical assistance in the formation of a land bank;
(4) develop partnerships and programming to advance the
work of land banks;
(5) support engagement between land banks and local
communities;
(6) provide land banks with access to education, expertise,
and research that support the work of land banks, including
environmental hazard remediation, land reuse, and
rehabilitation of commercial and residential properties;
(7) support the participation of land banks in local
community planning processes;
(8) support the engagement of land banks with residents of
neighborhoods in which land banks operate;
(9) work with rural communities and land banks to ensure
that the grant programs established under subsection (d) and
education initiatives, expertise, and research of the national
land bank network address the specific challenges of rural
areas;
(10) support data collection by land banks to track and
evaluate the activities and outcomes of land banks; and
(11) support the use of specialized technology by land
banks--
(A) to enable strategic and targeted property
acquisition and disposition; and
(B) to facilitate the data collection described in
paragraph (10) in a standardized manner that enables
data to be aggregated and compared.
(d) Grant Programs.--
(1) In general.--The eligible entity with which the
Corporation enters into a contract under subsection (b) shall
develop and administer grant programs to support--
(A) land banks; and
(B) communities in the creation of new land banks.
(2) Authority.--The eligible entity described in paragraph
(1) may, with respect to the grant programs developed under
this subsection--
(A) design the grant programs;
(B) develop eligibility criteria for the grant
programs;
(C) disburse grant funds directly to--
(i) a land bank; or
(ii) a nonprofit organization, a community
organization, or 1 or more units of government
for the purpose of establishing a land bank;
and
(D) establish reporting requirements for recipients
of the grants.
(3) Applications.--A land bank or an entity described in
subparagraph (C)(ii) desiring a grant from a grant program
developed under this subsection shall submit to the eligible
entity described in paragraph (1) an application that includes
a plan for resident engagement in the use of any grant funds
that has a direct impact on the community.
(4) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which
a land bank or an entity described in paragraph (2)(C)(ii)
receives a grant from a grant program developed under this
section, and annually thereafter until 1 year after the date on
which the land bank or entity fully expends the funds from the
grant, the land bank or entity shall submit to the national
land bank network a report that includes a summary of the steps
undertaken to engage neighborhood residents relating to
activities funded by the grant that have a direct impact on the
community.
(e) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Corporation shall
submit to Congress a report describing, with respect to the preceding
fiscal year--
(1) the services provided to land banks by the national
land bank network; and
(2) the outcomes, qualitative impacts, and quantifiable
impacts that member land banks have had in the respective
communities of those member land banks.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Corporation to carry out this section--
(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, of which not less
than $7,000,000 shall be used for the grant programs developed
under subsection (d); and
(2) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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