Committee advances bill letting municipalities refer severely blighted properties to land banks with just-compensation process

The Housing & Community Development Committee reported House Bill 743 as committed by a 15-11 roll call. Prime sponsor Representative Salisbury said the bill would give municipalities an additional tool to return abandoned or severely blighted commercial and residential properties to productive use by referring eligible properties to a land bank for acquisition and disposition.

Representative Salisbury described scenarios in small communities where property owners allow storefronts or other buildings to deteriorate for decades, preventing new small businesses or redevelopment. "A severely blighted property that in many cases often looks abandoned, that people refuse to use, people refuse to rent, people refuse to sell, can be brought back into productive use," Salisbury said, and added that owners would be provided with just compensation after land-bank expenses were deducted.

A committee member who said they formerly served as a county tax-claim director raised concerns about the bill’s proposed timeframe for referral and whether municipalities might overreach if owners intended to renovate properties on longer time horizons. That member suggested the bill’s five-year trigger could be lengthened to 10 years to address those concerns; the committee discussed the trade-offs but did not adopt a change on the floor. The committee adopted a technical amendment (described by staff) and then reported the bill as committed 15-11.

The measure, as described in committee, would allow land banks to acquire, demolish, rehabilitate or convey title to purchasers; sponsors said owners would not be deprived of property without just compensation. The committee record did not include detailed statutory text or a full compensation formula.