Senate panel hears testimony to make municipal land-bank purchase rights permanent

Senate Bill 538 would remove a sunset provision and the interim report requirement that otherwise would end municipal land banks’ and land reuse agencies’ right of first refusal on certain tax‑delinquent municipal property.

The right of first refusal allows municipal land banks or land reuse agencies to purchase tax‑delinquent property located inside municipal boundaries at the base bid before it is sold at public auction, supporters said. “The right of first refusal is critical for land banks to succeed,” said Kim Reed, city planner and executive director of the Nitro Land Use Authority, who testified before the Senate Government Organization Committee.

The bill, as explained by committee counsel, eliminates language that would have caused the right‑of‑first‑refusal provisions to…