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Rep. Demetrio reintroduces land-bank reforms in House Bill 86
Summary
Representative Demetrio told the House Development Committee that House Bill 86 would streamline land bank operations—authorizing safety inspections during foreclosure, enabling township agreements with county land banks, and allowing pilot payments-in-lieu of taxes—to speed reclamation of blighted properties and facilitate redevelopment.
COLUMBUS — Representative Demetrio told the House Development Committee that House Bill 86 aims to make land-bank operations more efficient and better equipped to return blighted properties to productive use.
In sponsor testimony, Demetrio described the bill as a reintroduction of prior legislation and said it strengthens local partnerships by permitting townships to enter agency agreements with county land banks and by authorizing safety and environmental inspections of delinquent, abandoned properties during tax-foreclosure proceedings under court supervision. The bill would also allow county commissioners to authorize a pilot program in which up to 50% of future real-estate taxes from a property sold by a land bank could be directed to a county land-utilization fund for up to five years.
Demetrio said the measures are intended to clear titles and prepare properties for redevelopment through sale or transfer to responsible third parties, and he noted prior bipartisan support and stakeholder engagement, including work with the Ohio Land Bank Association.
Committee members asked whether the bill had faced prior opposition; Demetrio said previous hearings were favorable but a prior session’s calendar constraints prevented final passage. Representative Upchurch praised the concept and offered to be a joint sponsor.
The committee did not vote on the bill; the measure was presented as the first hearing and will be considered further as the legislative process moves forward.
