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Gus Franco bill would expand land bank powers and let counties pilot property tax exemptions
Summary
Ethan Harris of the Clark County Land Bank told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 102 would modernize Ohio land-bank law, reserve surplus foreclosure proceeds for former owners, permit temporary PILOT tax exemptions up to five years at 50% of taxes owed, and allow partnerships with townships for demolition and abatement.
Ethan Harris, executive director of the Clark County Land Bank, testified in favor of Senate Bill 102 — known in the hearing as the Gus Franco Act — saying the bill updates Ohio land banking law to make it easier to return vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties to productive use.
"This bill is a thoughtful update to Ohio's land banking laws," Harris said. He told the committee the measure reflects 15 years of experience and input from county treasurers, auditors, prosecutors and county commissioners.
Harris described several substantive changes in the bill: it would ensure surplus proceeds from the sale of a foreclosed property are reserved for the former property owner; authorize county commissioners to approve temporary payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs) of up to five years and 50% of taxes owed for land-bank-acquired and redeveloped properties; explicitly allow land banks to partner with townships for demolition and nuisance abatement; modernize legal publication requirements to allow online advertising; and permit entry under court order for safety and stabilization inspections of vacant, abandoned and certified tax-delinquent homes.
Harris said the new PILOT provision helps close financing gaps for difficult redevelopment sites and keeps resources reinvested locally. He emphasized the importance of allowing land banks to work with townships in rural counties that lack municipal capacity: "Townships, not so much. I'm speaking only to Clark County's townships because I have a lot of experience with them," he said, adding that land banks typically have private attorneys and can streamline nuisance-abatement work for trustees.
Harris also described efforts to use state brownfield funding to remediate former landfills and other contaminated sites, and suggested cost savings if legal notices could be published online rather than solely in print. (In testimony he said, while speaking quickly, that the current practice of print legal notices and frequency of publications had an associated annual cost; the transcript record of exact dollar amounts was unclear.)
The committee took the testimony as the bill's second hearing; no vote was taken. Written proponent testimony from the Ohio Manufactured Home Association and the Cuyahoga County Treasurer was noted on the record.
