Representative John Demetrio told the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee on the bill's first hearing that House Bill 86 would “streamline the land bank process, making it more efficient in reclaiming blighted and underutilized properties across Ohio.”

The bill, a reintroduction of prior legislation, would extend authorization for safety and environmental inspections on delinquent or abandoned property during tax foreclosure under court supervision, allow townships to enter agency agreements with county land banks to address nuisance properties, and permit boards of county commissioners to authorize up to 50% of future real estate taxes to be paid into a county land reutilization fund as a payment in lieu of taxes for up to five years, according to Demetrio.

“Many provisions in House Bill 86 were included in Senate Bill 112 from the 130th General Assembly,” Demetrio said, noting prior bipartisan support for related measures. He also said the bill is being named the “Gus Frangos Act” in honor of the late Gus Frangos, the former CEO of the Cuyahoga County land bank, who helped build Ohio’s land bank system.

Committee members did not ask questions during the first hearing and the chair recorded the session as the bill’s first hearing. No committee vote or formal action to advance the bill occurred at that hearing.

Supporters say the changes would make it easier for local governments to clear title, inspect unsafe properties before sheriff sales, and partner across jurisdictions to remove abandoned structures. The bill’s sponsor said those changes would “improve outcomes for prospective property owners, developers, and neighborhoods alike.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee listed the bill for its first hearing and received no recorded objections at that moment. Further committee work, including potential amendments or fiscal analysis, was not part of the hearing record.