Senate committee holds first hearing on 'Gus Frangos Act' to update county land bank law

Senate Bill 102, the Gus Frangos Act, received its first hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the bill’s sponsor testimony and descriptive outline of proposed changes to Ohio land bank law.

The bill is aimed at updating the law that governs county land bank entities — public bodies that acquire, hold and transfer vacant or tax-delinquent property for redevelopment. "This bill addresses needed reform for County Land Bank Reutilization Corporation, also known, more commonly as land banks," the sponsor said in committee testimony, describing land banks as mechanisms "for acquiring, holding, and distributing property in the service of community goals."

Why it matters: Land banks are widely used in…