Bill to aid land banks advances in House
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
The state House of Representatives Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday unanimously voted a bill out of committee that would benefit land banks.
State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, is the prime sponsor of House Bill 1737, which would create an environmental liability exemption for land banks.
The PA Land Bank Act 153 of 2012, according to the state Department of Community & Economic Development and PA Blight Library, authorizes counties and municipalities with populations of 10,000 or more to establish land banks — a flexible and optional tool meant to help strengthen municipalities by enabling them to systematically remove problem properties from an endless cycle of vacancy, abandonment and tax foreclosure, and return them to productive use.
Current law, as defined under the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act, deems that a land bank is subject to enforcement action by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
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