House passes bill extending limited environmental liability protection to land banks

The House approved House Bill 17 13 on Nov. 18, 2025, a bill amending the Economic Development Agencies, Fiduciary and Lender Environmental Liability Protection Act (Act 3 of 1995) to include land banks among economic development agencies that may receive limited liability protection related to potentially contaminated properties.

A member speaking on the bill (S18) told colleagues that the change would "remove the fear of environmental liability as a barrier to land banks to acquire brownfields and restore them to productive reuse," arguing that land banks are important partners in community revitalization. The clerk’s read‑out and the floor narrative described the bill as extending the same limited liability protection presently afforded to redevelopment authorities to land banks.

The clerk recorded the ayes as 190 and nays as 13 on final passage; the bill will be presented to the Senate for concurrence. Supporters on the floor listed municipal and redevelopment organizations as endorsers, asserting the change would reduce liability‑driven hesitancy to acquire contaminated sites and speed redevelopment.

Implementation will depend on how state agencies apply liability and remediation rules, and the transcript records advocacy from municipal and redevelopment stakeholders but not detailed fiscal estimates on clean‑up costs or program administration.