LANSING, Mich., May 18, 2023 — House Bill 4375 is legislation to broaden qualifications for cities to form land banks. After the bill passed on the House floor, state Rep. John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming), who co-sponsored the bill, issued the following statement:
“As chair of the Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to help work on moving this legislation forward to the floor. I voted in favor of this bill because it will provide many benefits — including uplifting communities by spurring economic growth and empowering the people of those communities to purchase homes, so they can build a more stable future for themselves and their families.”
Background: Kent County previously had a land bank, which was dissolved in December 2018. Since then, Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming have been deprived of access to creating land banks, and many other cities across Michigan have never had access to them, including St. Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Warren, Ann Arbor and many others. HB 4375 would allow these cities to begin coordinating with the State Land Bank Authority to operate their own land bank without the need for their county to take action.