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-
tives 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 desta-
bilize rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods 
across the United States by creating fire and other 
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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 un-
paid taxes and public liens on vacant and abandoned 
properties, often exceed the property values of va-
cant and abandoned properties, driving away pur-
chasers. 
(3) The lack of an insurable and marketable 
title frequently prevents vacant and abandoned prop-
erties from returning to productive use. 
(4) Low-income neighborhoods and commu-
nities 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 fre-
quently prioritize the ease of disposition and maxi-
mizing sale prices instead of the needs of commu-
nities 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 prop-
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erties to productive use in accordance with lo-
cally 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 prac-
tices, research, technical assistance, and other re-
sources. 
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 sup-
porting 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.). 
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(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means a national nonprofit organization that has 
demonstrated and established expertise— 
(A) in supporting the creation, implemen-
tation, and operation of land banks; and 
(B) relating to the systems, laws, and poli-
cies 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 des-
ignated by 1 or more State or local governments to 
acquire, steward, and dispose of vacant, abandoned, 
or other problem properties in accordance with lo-
cally 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 mem-
bership-based national land bank network estab-
lished under subsection (b)(1). 
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(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 net-
work; 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 com-
munities 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 para-
graph (2) with technical assistance in the formation 
of a land bank; 
(4) develop partnerships and programming to 
advance the work of land banks; 
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(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 remedi-
ation, 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 op-
erate; 
(9) work with rural communities and land 
banks to ensure that the grant programs established 
under subsection (d) and education initiatives, exper-
tise, 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 prop-
erty acquisition and disposition; and 
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(B) to facilitate the data collection de-
scribed 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 pro-
grams 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 com-
munity organization, or 1 or more units of 
government for the purpose of establishing 
a land bank; and 
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(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 sub-
section 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 neigh-
borhood 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 describ-
ing, with respect to the preceding fiscal year— 
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(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. 
Æ 
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