National Land Bank Network Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7103 To direct the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation with respect to the establishment of a national land bank network, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2020 Mr. KILDEE (for himself and Mr. FERGUSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To direct the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation with respect to the establishment of a national land bank network, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Land Bank 4 Network Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Vacant and abandoned properties desta- 8 bilize rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods 9 across the United States by creating fire and other 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7103.IH H7103 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7103 IH public safety hazards, driving down property values, 1 and draining local tax dollars. 2 (2) The cost of repairs to maintain such prop- 3 erties, as well as the potential unpaid taxes and pub- 4 lic liens on such properties, often exceed the prop- 5 erty values of such properties, driving away pur- 6 chasers. 7 (3) Additionally, the lack of an insurable and 8 marketable title frequently prevents such properties 9 from returning to productive use. 10 (4) Low-income neighborhoods and commu- 11 nities of color disproportionately bear the burden of 12 living near such properties and the associated haz- 13 ards. 14 (5) Land banks— 15 (A) have been developed to respond to the 16 challenges posed by such properties; and 17 (B) are primarily focused on the return of 18 vacant, abandoned, and tax delinquent prop- 19 erties to productive use in accordance with lo- 20 cally determined goals and priorities. 21 (6) Land banks, regardless of location, size of 22 inventory, or duration of existence, share challenges 23 in accessing best practices, research, technical assist- 24 ance, and other resources. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7103.IH H7103 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7103 IH SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that a national land bank 2 network would provide the tools necessary to ensure that 3 land banks— 4 (1) use best practices; 5 (2) operate transparently; 6 (3) develop partnerships and programming to 7 drive community redevelopment forward; and 8 (4) access education, expertise, and research to 9 strengthen the critical work of land banks in sup- 10 porting equitable communities. 11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL LAND BANK NETWORK. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 13 date of enactment of this Act, the Neighborhood Reinvest- 14 ment Corporation shall enter into a contract with a na- 15 tional nonprofit organization that has demonstrated and 16 established expertise in supporting the creation, imple- 17 mentation, and operation of land banks, as well as exper- 18 tise relating to the systems, laws, and policies that impact 19 vacant, abandoned, and other problem properties, to es- 20 tablish and operate a membership-based national land 21 bank network. 22 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the national land bank 23 network established under this section shall be— 24 (1) to provide technical assistance to rural, sub- 25 urban, and urban land banks who are members of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7103.IH H7103 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7103 IH the network to support skills training, staffing sup- 1 port, and other operational capacity needs of such 2 land banks; 3 (2) to work with those rural, suburban, and 4 urban communities that are considering whether a 5 land bank is an appropriate tool to address vacancy, 6 abandonment, and other problem properties in their 7 community, and provide technical assistance in the 8 formation of a local land bank; 9 (3) to develop partnerships and programming to 10 advance the work of land banks; 11 (4) to provide land banks with access to edu- 12 cation, expertise, and research that supports the 13 work of land banks; 14 (5) to develop and administer grant programs 15 to support existing land banks and communities in 16 the creation of new land banks, including with re- 17 spect to the ability to design, develop eligibility cri- 18 teria, and disperse grant funds directly; 19 (6) to work with rural communities and land 20 banks to ensure the specific challenges of rural areas 21 are addressed through the grant programs, edu- 22 cation, expertise, and research; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7103.IH H7103 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7103 IH (7) to track and evaluate the activities and out- 1 comes of land banks who are members of the net- 2 work. 3 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each fiscal year, the Neigh- 4 borhood Reinvestment Corporation shall submit to Con- 5 gress a report describing, with respect to the preceding 6 fiscal year— 7 (1) the services provided to land banks by the 8 national land bank network; and 9 (2) the outcomes, qualitative impacts, and 10 quantifiable impacts that land banks who are mem- 11 bers of the network have had in their respective 12 communities. 13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—This is 14 authorized to be appropriated to the Neighborhood Rein- 15 vestment Corporation to carry out this section— 16 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, except 17 that not less than $7,000,000 shall be used for the 18 grant programs developed and administered pursu- 19 ant to subsection (b)(5); and 20 (2) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 21 through 2031. 22 (e) LAND BANK DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec- 23 tion, the term ‘‘land bank’’ means any of the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7103.IH H7103 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7103 IH (1) A government entity, agency, or program 1 that has been designated by the local government (or 2 two or more local governments) to acquire, steward, 3 and dispose of vacant, abandoned, and other prob- 4 lem properties in line with locally determined goals 5 and priorities. 6 (2) A nonprofit organization that has been des- 7 ignated by a local government (or two or more local 8 governments) for the sole or principal purpose of ac- 9 quiring, stewarding, and disposing of vacant, aban- 10 doned, or other problem properties in accordance 11 with locally determined priorities and goals. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7103.IH H7103 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS