A 794Modifies procedures for determination and payment of fair market value in distressed municipalities; concerns real property that is abandoned, vacant, or subject to unpaid taxes.

Latest change summary

+1079 / −1699 words · LargeConfidence: high

This version completely restructures the bill by removing the entire legislative preamble and procedural framework and replacing it with an Assembly Housing Committee statement. The removed sections eliminated detailed procedures for distressed municipalities to acquire vacant, abandoned, or tax-delinquent properties, including alternative acquisition methods, compensation calculations allowing deduction of unpaid taxes and liens, trust fund procedures for absent owners, and notice and appeal requirements for property owners facing municipal action. The replacement committee statement, dated May 14, 2026, introduces new quantitative thresholds that were previously unspecified: distressed municipality status now requires a municipal revitalization index score of 45 or greater for three years, and vacancy or abandonment determinations require at least four of 14 qualifiers. The committee statement retains the core concept that distressed municipalities may use eminent domain or purchase at fair market value while offsetting unpaid taxes, but eliminates the granular procedural safeguards for property owners.