[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4146 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4146

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
 grant programs relating to neighborhood revitalization, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 17, 2024

Mr. Casey (for himself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
 grant programs relating to neighborhood revitalization, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Neighborhood Revitalization and Land 
Banking Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Land bank.--The term ``land bank'' means a government 
        entity, agency, or program, or a special purpose nonprofit 
        entity formed by 1 or more units of government in accordance 
        with a State or local land bank enabling law, that has been 
        designated by 1 or more State or local governments to acquire, 
        steward, and dispose of vacant, abandoned, or other problem 
        properties in accordance with locally determined priorities and 
        goals.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (3) Targeted revitalization corridor.--The term ``targeted 
        revitalization corridor'' means a segment of a community in 
        need of revitalization that--
                    (A) may be delineated by major streets or physical 
                topography;
                    (B) reflects a cohesive and targeted geographic 
                area with shared character; and
                    (C) has boundaries proposed and justified by 
                individual grant applicants based on unique community 
                need.

SEC. 3. BLIGHT MAPPING GRANTS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary may make grants to eligible entities to assist in 
monitoring property conditions and developing a database for tracking 
blighted properties within a given geography.
    (b) Eligible Entity.--An entity eligible for a grant under this 
section shall be--
            (1) a land bank; or
            (2) any county or local government that is not served by a 
        land bank, for a period of not more than 4 years.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) Contents.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under 
        this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at 
        such time, in such manner, and including such information as 
        the Secretary may require.
            (2) Priority.--If the overall resources provided to carry 
        out the program under this section are insufficient to fund all 
        qualified applicants in a given fiscal year, the Secretary 
        shall prioritize--
                    (A) applicants that are land banks; and
                    (B) 1 applicant per county, with a strong 
                preference for any applicant that is able to monitor 
                property conditions and track blighted properties 
                within the entire county.
            (3) Multiple applicants.--A land bank that serves more than 
        1 county within a State may apply for and aggregate multiple 
        per-county grants under this section, but only if a signed 
        partnership agreement with each included county is provided 
        with the application.
    (d) Use of Funds.--A recipient of a grant under this section--
            (1) may use the grant funds for--
                    (A) mapping activities for a given geography, such 
                as data scraping, canvassing, purchasing of software 
                and technology, including technology used to link 
                multiple municipal datasets, maintenance on digital 
                archives and infrastructure, manpower, and equipment; 
                and
                    (B) documenting commercial, industrial, and 
                residential properties that are blighted; and
            (2) may not use the grant funds for citation or enforcement 
        activities.
    (e) Minimum Geography.--The Secretary shall establish a minimum 
geography that eligible entities are required to survey in order to 
qualify to apply for a grant under this section, which should be--
            (1) responsive to the range of population densities across 
        the country; and
            (2) ensure a significant amount of work is completed with 
        funding, and not that only a minimum square mileage is 
        surveyed.
    (f) Annual Amount.--The amount of a grant under this section for an 
eligible entity shall be $10,000 per fiscal year.
    (g) Additional Mapping Activities.--If, after the Secretary awards 
grants under this section in a fiscal year, there are remaining grant 
funds, the Secretary may use those amounts to award grants to multiple 
applicants within a single county, but in no case shall more than 5 
grants be awarded in a single county.
    (h) Data-Sharing Requirement.--By request, data collected using 
grant funds under this section shall be made available for access by 
other municipal or county agencies, and by local community development 
entities and nonprofit organizations, including community land trusts, 
other land banks, land bank associations and networks, researchers, and 
redevelopment authorities.
    (i) Reporting.--
            (1) Names of recipients.--Not later than 3 months after 
        awarding a grant under this section, the Secretary shall 
        publish the name of the grant recipient on a publicly 
        accessible website.
            (2) Additional reporting.--The Secretary may require 
        reporting on the activities supported using grant funds under 
        this section for oversight and research purposes.

SEC. 4. LAND BANK PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the Office of 
Community Planning and Development of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, shall establish a program under which the Secretary 
may award planning grants and implementation grants to land banks to 
support projects that fund the revitalization of neighborhoods by 
addressing property conditions in a region.
    (b) Eligible Activities.--
            (1) Planning grants.--A land bank receiving a planning 
        grant under this section may use the grant funds to create--
                    (A) a targeted list of blighted properties, in 
                particular blighted commercial and residential 
                properties to target for demolition, deconstruction, 
                redevelopment, or other disposition; and
                    (B) a proposed revitalization plan for how each 
                blighted property described in subparagraph (A) will be 
                used after the property is brought back into use, which 
                shall--
                            (i) support existing homeowners, renters, 
                        and business owners and preserve occupied 
                        properties where feasible, while also improving 
                        neighborhood safety and continuity;
                            (ii) be created in partnership with 
                        community groups and residents to ensure 
                        responsible reuse in accordance with community 
                        goals and priorities;
                            (iii) indicate how the project will 
                        contribute to or support lasting housing 
                        affordability and access to homeownership 
                        opportunity; and
                            (iv) consider how blighted property 
                        remediation efforts will contribute to holistic 
                        neighborhood revitalization, including how they 
                        will impact access to a safe environment, 
                        respond to local housing market needs, and 
                        impact access to housing affordable to a 
                        variety of income levels, appropriate services, 
                        public assets, transportation, schools, and 
                        jobs.
            (2) Implementation grants.--
                    (A) In general.--A land bank receiving an 
                implementation grant under this section may use the 
                grant funds to implement a revitalization plan of the 
                land bank described in paragraph (1)(B) over a 5-year 
                period, including through efforts such as property 
                maintenance, site preparation, remediation, obtaining a 
                clear, marketable, and insurable title, property 
                acquisition and disposition, demolition, 
                deconstruction, property rehabilitation, staffing, 
                operations, and administrative costs.
                    (B) Construction predevelopment fund use cap.--A 
                land bank receiving an implementation grant under this 
                section may use not more than 25 percent of the grant 
                funds for construction and predevelopment costs 
                incurred in preparation of a site for redevelopment, 
                such as environmental reviews, stormwater work, and 
                geotechnical engineering.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) In general.--A land bank desiring a grant under this 
        section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
        time, in such manner, and including such information as the 
        Secretary may require.
            (2) Considerations.--In selecting grant recipients under 
        this section, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) seek to make awards to land banks in a 
                geographically diverse manner;
                    (B) consider the needs of rural geographies 
                separately given population density;
                    (C) consider the extent to which the proposed 
                targeted revitalization corridor represents a cohesive 
                and targeted geographic area with a shared character; 
                and
                    (D) consider applications that address multiple 
                targeted revitalization corridors, if the Secretary 
                determines that the funding allocated to individual 
                targeted revitalization corridors is sufficient to 
                contribute to holistic neighborhood revitalization.
    (d) Amount.--
            (1) In general.--The amount of a grant made under this 
        section shall be--
                    (A) with respect to a planning grant, not less than 
                $100,000 and not more than $250,000 for each land bank 
                receiving a grant, with an aggregate total of--
                            (i) not more than $18,000,000 in each of 
                        fiscal years 2025 and 2026; and
                            (ii) not more than $1,000,000 in each of 
                        fiscal years 2027 through 2035; and
                    (B) with respect to an implementation grant, not 
                less than $2,000,000 and not more than $15,000,000 for 
                each land bank receiving a grant, with an aggregate 
                total of not more than $40,000,000 in each of fiscal 
                years 2027 through 2035.
            (2) Set-asides.--Not less than one-third of planning grant 
        funding and one-third of implementation grant funding awarded 
        under this section shall be set aside each fiscal year for 
        awards to underresourced land banks.
    (e) Underresourced Land Bank.--The Secretary, in consultation with 
stakeholders engaged in land banking work throughout the United States, 
shall work with stakeholders in the broader community revitalization 
and land banking field to determine the various criteria that could 
qualify a land bank as underresourced for purposes of subsection 
(d)(2).
    (f) Prohibition.--A land bank receiving a grant under this section 
shall not be required to divert to the Secretary any proceeds from the 
sale of any property assisted under the grant.
    (g) Reporting.--
            (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        reporting requirements imposed on grant recipients under this 
        section should prioritize simplicity and flexibility while also 
        providing the data required to successfully monitor grants made 
        under this section.
            (2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall establish reporting 
        requirements that balance the considerations under paragraph 
        (1) and require grant recipients to report not more frequently 
        than on an annual basis.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Predevelopment Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide predevelopment 
        technical assistance to individuals and organizations to 
        facilitate applications to the programs established under 
        sections 3 and 4 by funding not less than 1 and not more than 3 
        eligible entities or nonprofit organizations to provide 
        training, research, and technical assistance to individuals and 
        organizations, as appropriate.
            (2) Establishment of fund.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        predevelopment technical assistance fund to provide the 
        technical assistance under paragraph (1).
            (3) Cost of assistance.--Assistance provided under 
        paragraph (1) shall be provided at no cost to recipients.
    (b) Blighted Property Remediation Fellowship Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
        under which the Secretary may make 3 awards of $300,000 each, 
        to be used over a 3-year period, to nonprofit organizations, 
        institutions of higher education, as defined in section 101 of 
        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), or 
        consortiums to administer a blighted property remediation 
        fellowship pilot program aimed at advancing the land banking 
        field through research and the development of expertise within 
        the workforce.
            (2) Technical assistance.--If requested by a recipient of 
        an award under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide 
        technical assistance to that recipient to comply with the 
        reporting requirements under paragraph (3).
            (3) Report.--Each recipient of an award under this 
        subsection shall, not later than 3 years after receiving the 
        award, submit to the Secretary a report on the activities 
        carried out under this subsection.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Blight Mapping Grants.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
to the Secretary to carry out section 3 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2035, to remain available until expended.
    (b) Planning Grants and Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Secretary to carry out sections 4 and 5--
                    (A) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 and 
                2026; and
                    (B) $43,900,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 
                through 2035.
            (2) Fiscal years 2025 and 2026.--In each of fiscal years 
        2025 and 2026, the Secretary shall use the majority of amounts 
        appropriated under this subsection to provide planning grants 
        and technical assistance and establish a pipeline of applicants 
        for future implementation grants under sections 4 and 5.
            (3) Fiscal years 2027 through 2035.--In each of fiscal 
        years 2027 through 2035, amounts appropriated under this 
        subsection shall be distributed such that--
                    (A) not less than $1,000,000 is made available for 
                planning grants under section 4(b)(1);
                    (B) $40,000,000 is made available for 
                implementation grants under section 4(b)(2);
                    (C) $2,000,000 is provided for the predevelopment 
                technical assistance fund described in section 5(a)(2); 
                and
                    (D) $900,000 is provided for the program described 
                in section 5(b).
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