Bill would exempt public agencies and land trusts from solicitation protections applied to private homeowners
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Summary
House Bill 2,624 would exempt public entities, tribes and nonprofit nature conservancies from previously enacted solicitation protections for homeowners; proponents said conservation acquisitions and other public purchases follow different appraisal and funding rules and need the exemption to preserve grant funding and established appraisal requirements.
House Bill 2,624 would exempt public entities acquiring property for public purposes, Indian tribes, and nonprofit nature conservancies (land trusts) from the solicitation and appraisal provisions enacted last year for solicited real estate transactions.
Sponsor Representative Brandy Donaghy (44th District) said the bill is a narrow "trailer" fix to the earlier law (often referred to in testimony as the "we buy ugly homes" statute), noting that many public and conservation transactions involve long timeframes, different funding sources and existing statutory appraisal requirements that do not fit the homeowner‑protection model enacted previously.
The Trust for Public Land and the Department of Natural Resources testified in support, saying the exemption preserves access to grant funding and the statutory appraisal/review processes required by grant funders and state purchasing rules. Robin Hamill (DNR) said without the exemption DNR could lose eligibility for more than $25 million in legislative appropriations intended for conservation acquisitions.
Land trust representatives described typical acquisitions and appraisal standards used in conservation purchases and asked the committee to carve out those transactions to avoid unintended consequences of the homeowner‑facing protections.
The committee closed public testimony on HB 2,624 in this session.
