National Land Bank Network Act

I 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 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’’. 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 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2832 IH public safety hazards, driving down property values, 1 and draining local tax dollars. 2 (2) The cost of repairs to maintain vacant and 3 abandoned properties, as well as the potential un- 4 paid taxes and public liens on vacant and abandoned 5 properties, often exceed the property values of va- 6 cant and abandoned properties, driving away pur- 7 chasers. 8 (3) The lack of an insurable and marketable 9 title frequently prevents vacant and abandoned prop- 10 erties from returning to productive use. 11 (4) Low-income neighborhoods and commu- 12 nities of color disproportionately bear the burden of 13 living near vacant and abandoned properties and the 14 hazards associated with those properties. 15 (5) Existing property disposition practices fre- 16 quently prioritize the ease of disposition and maxi- 17 mizing sale prices instead of the needs of commu- 18 nities and homeowners. 19 (6) Land banks— 20 (A) have been developed to respond to the 21 challenges posed by vacant and abandoned 22 properties; and 23 (B) are primarily focused on the return of 24 vacant, abandoned, and tax delinquent prop- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2832 IH erties to productive use in accordance with lo- 1 cally determined goals and priorities. 2 (7) Land banks, regardless of the location, size 3 of inventory, or duration of existence of a particular 4 land bank, share challenges in accessing best prac- 5 tices, research, technical assistance, and other re- 6 sources. 7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 8 It is the sense of Congress that a national land bank 9 network would provide the tools necessary to ensure that 10 land banks— 11 (1) use best practices; 12 (2) operate transparently; 13 (3) prioritize positive community outcomes; 14 (4) develop partnerships and programming to 15 drive community redevelopment forward; and 16 (5) access education, expertise, and research to 17 strengthen the critical work of land banks in sup- 18 porting equitable communities. 19 SEC. 4. NATIONAL LAND BANK NETWORK. 20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’ 22 means the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation 23 established under the Neighborhood Reinvestment 24 Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2832 IH (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 1 ty’’ means a national nonprofit organization that has 2 demonstrated and established expertise— 3 (A) in supporting the creation, implemen- 4 tation, and operation of land banks; and 5 (B) relating to the systems, laws, and poli- 6 cies that impact vacant, abandoned, and other 7 problem properties. 8 (3) LAND BANK.—The term ‘‘land bank’’ 9 means a government entity, agency, or program, or 10 a special purpose nonprofit entity formed by 1 or 11 more units of government in accordance with a State 12 or local land bank enabling law, that has been des- 13 ignated by 1 or more State or local governments to 14 acquire, steward, and dispose of vacant, abandoned, 15 or other problem properties in accordance with lo- 16 cally determined priorities and goals. 17 (4) MEMBER LAND BANK.—The term ‘‘member 18 land bank’’ means a rural, suburban, or urban land 19 bank that is a member of the national land bank 20 network. 21 (5) NATIONAL LAND BANK NETWORK.—The 22 term ‘‘national land bank network’’ means the mem- 23 bership-based national land bank network estab- 24 lished under subsection (b)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2832 IH (b) NATIONAL LAND BANK NETWORK.—Not later 1 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 2 the Corporation shall enter into a contract with an eligible 3 entity to establish and operate— 4 (1) a membership-based national land bank net- 5 work; and 6 (2) the grant programs described in subsection 7 (d). 8 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the national land bank 9 network shall be to— 10 (1) provide technical assistance to member land 11 banks to support skills training, staffing support, 12 and other operational capacity needs of member land 13 banks; 14 (2) work with rural, suburban, and urban com- 15 munities that are considering whether a land bank 16 would be an appropriate tool to address vacant, 17 abandoned, and other problem properties in those 18 communities; 19 (3) provide the communities described in para- 20 graph (2) with technical assistance in the formation 21 of a land bank; 22 (4) develop partnerships and programming to 23 advance the work of land banks; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2832 IH (5) support engagement between land banks 1 and local communities; 2 (6) provide land banks with access to education, 3 expertise, and research that support the work of 4 land banks, including environmental hazard remedi- 5 ation, land reuse, and rehabilitation of commercial 6 and residential properties; 7 (7) support the participation of land banks in 8 local community planning processes; 9 (8) support the engagement of land banks with 10 residents of neighborhoods in which land banks op- 11 erate; 12 (9) work with rural communities and land 13 banks to ensure that the grant programs established 14 under subsection (d) and education initiatives, exper- 15 tise, and research of the national land bank network 16 address the specific challenges of rural areas; 17 (10) support data collection by land banks to 18 track and evaluate the activities and outcomes of 19 land banks; and 20 (11) support the use of specialized technology 21 by land banks— 22 (A) to enable strategic and targeted prop- 23 erty acquisition and disposition; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2832 IH (B) to facilitate the data collection de- 1 scribed in paragraph (10) in a standardized 2 manner that enables data to be aggregated and 3 compared. 4 (d) GRANT PROGRAMS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The eligible entity with 6 which the Corporation enters into a contract under 7 subsection (b) shall develop and administer grant 8 programs to support— 9 (A) land banks; and 10 (B) communities in the creation of new 11 land banks. 12 (2) AUTHORITY.—The eligible entity described 13 in paragraph (1) may, with respect to the grant pro- 14 grams developed under this subsection— 15 (A) design the grant programs; 16 (B) develop eligibility criteria for the grant 17 programs; 18 (C) disburse grant funds directly to— 19 (i) a land bank; or 20 (ii) a nonprofit organization, a com- 21 munity organization, or 1 or more units of 22 government for the purpose of establishing 23 a land bank; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2832 IH (D) establish reporting requirements for 1 recipients of the grants. 2 (3) APPLICATIONS.—A land bank or an entity 3 described in subparagraph (C)(ii) desiring a grant 4 from a grant program developed under this sub- 5 section shall submit to the eligible entity described 6 in paragraph (1) an application that includes a plan 7 for resident engagement in the use of any grant 8 funds that has a direct impact on the community. 9 (4) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 10 date on which a land bank or an entity described in 11 paragraph (2)(C)(ii) receives a grant from a grant 12 program developed under this section, and annually 13 thereafter until 1 year after the date on which the 14 land bank or entity fully expends the funds from the 15 grant, the land bank or entity shall submit to the 16 national land bank network a report that includes a 17 summary of the steps undertaken to engage neigh- 18 borhood residents relating to activities funded by the 19 grant that have a direct impact on the community. 20 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 21 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 22 the Corporation shall submit to Congress a report describ- 23 ing, with respect to the preceding fiscal year— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2832 IH (1) the services provided to land banks by the 1 national land bank network; and 2 (2) the outcomes, qualitative impacts, and 3 quantifiable impacts that member land banks have 4 had in the respective communities of those member 5 land banks. 6 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 7 authorized to be appropriated to the Corporation to carry 8 out this section— 9 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, of which 10 not less than $7,000,000 shall be used for the grant 11 programs developed under subsection (d); and 12 (2) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 13 through 2034. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2832.IH H2832 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS