Nebraska Legislature Adopts Land Bank Act
Governor Heineman signed the Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act into law on June 4, 2013. The Land Bank Act authorizes municipalities to establish land banks to acquire tax delinquent properties. A land bank may acquire abandoned, unproductive properties and properties subject to burdensome tax liabilities from both private landowners and through tax and foreclosure sales. A land bank has authority to extinguish liens for delinquent taxes, sell the properties, and place them back in productive use.
A land bank will receive funding in various ways. Half of the property tax revenue from all properties the bank resells will remit to the land bank for five years after each sale. A land bank is also eligible for grants, may issue bonds and receive loans from both public and private entities, and may invest its finances. Pursuant to the express terms of the legislation, the effective date of the Land Bank Act is October 1, 2013.