MO HB1659

Municipalities located within counties where a land trust operated on January 1, 2012, may establish a land bank agency by ordinance or resolution to manage and dispose of tax-delinquent real estate.

Land bank agencies are governed by a board of five commissioners appointed by the county, school district, and municipality, serving four-year terms without compensation.

Land bank agencies may acquire property through tax foreclosure sales, transfers from land trusts, or other means, and may sell or lease such property subject to municipal priorities for use (public spaces, affordable housing, commercial/industrial, etc.).

Proceeds from property sales must first cover expenses, then fund the land bank's operations, with excess funds distributed to taxing authorities in proportion to their tax levies on the property.

Reserve period taxes (taxes for the three years following a land bank property sale) are collected by the county collector and distributed to the land bank agency, minus a 4% county fee.