I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2832 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Land Bank Network Act . 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. 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. 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.