2022 Georgia Code
Title 48 - Revenue and Taxation
Chapter 4 - Tax Sales
Article 6 - Land Banks
§ 48-4-106. Powers; Limitation or Withdrawal of Power by Land Bank Member Under Certain Circumstances

1. A land bank shall constitute a public body, corporate and politic, and shall have all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including the following powers:
   1. To adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;
   2. To sue and be sued in its own name and plead and be impleaded in all civil actions, including, but not limited to, actions to clear title to property of the land bank;
   3. To adopt a seal and to alter the same at pleasure;
   4. To acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise and to hold, lease, and dispose of real or personal property of every kind and character, or any interest therein, in furtherance of the public purposes of the land bank;
   5. To acquire, accept, or retain equitable interests, security interests, or other interests in any real property, personal property, or fixtures by loan agreement, note, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, pledge, conveyance, contract, lien, loan agreement, or other consensual transfer in order to secure credit extended by the land bank;
   6. To borrow from private lenders, from municipal corporations, counties, or consolidated governments, from the state, or from federal government funds, as may be necessary, for the operation and work of the land bank;
   7. To borrow money to further or carry out its public purpose and to execute notes, other obligations, leases, trust indentures, trust agreements, agreements for the sale of its notes or other obligations, loan agreements, mortgages, deeds to secure debt, trust deeds, security agreements, assignments, and such other agreements or instruments as may be necessary or desirable, in the judgment of the land bank, to evidence and to provide security for such borrowing;
   8. To issue notes or other obligations of the land bank and use the proceeds thereof for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of any land bank projects and otherwise to further or carry out the public purpose of the land bank and to pay all costs of the land bank incidental to, or necessary and appropriate to, furthering or carrying out such purpose;
   9. To make application directly or indirectly to any federal, state, county, or municipal government or agency or to any other source, whether public or private, for loans, grants, guarantees, or other financial assistance in furtherance of the land bank’s public purpose and to accept and use the same upon such terms and conditions as are prescribed by such federal, state, county, or municipal government or agency or other source;
   10. To enter into agreements with the federal government or any agency thereof to use the facilities or services of the federal government or any agency thereof in order to further or carry out the public purposes of the land bank;
   11. A land bank shall have no authority to lend money to a nongovernmental entity; provided, however, that a land bank may administer funds in the form of a loan to a nongovernmental entity when such funds are received from federal, state, and local government entities for the purpose of making such loans; provided, further, that only such transactions which are fully consistent with the purpose of the land bank shall be permitted. In those transactions, a land bank may extend credit to any person, corporation, partnership, whether limited or general, or other entity for the costs of any land bank projects which credit may be evidenced or secured by loan agreements, notes, mortgages, deeds to secure debt, trust deeds, security agreements, assignments, or such other instruments, or by rentals, revenues, fees, or charges, upon such terms and conditions as the land bank shall determine to be reasonable in connection with such extension of credit, including provision for the establishment and maintenance of reserve funds, and, in the exercise of powers granted by this article in connection with any land bank projects the land bank shall have the right and power to require the inclusion in any such loan agreement, note, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, or other instrument of such provisions or requirements for guaranty of any obligations, insurance, construction, use, operation, maintenance, and financing of a project, and such other terms and conditions, as the land bank may deem necessary or desirable;
   12. As security for repayment of any notes or other obligations of the land bank, to pledge, mortgage, convey, assign, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber any property of the land bank, including, but not limited to, real property, fixtures, personal property, and revenues or other funds, and to execute any lease, trust indenture, trust agreement, agreement for the sale of the land bank’s notes or other obligations, loan agreement, mortgage, deed to secure debt, trust deed, security agreement, assignment, or other agreement or instrument as may be necessary or desirable, in the judgment of the land bank, to secure any such notes or other obligations, which instruments or agreements may provide for foreclosure or forced sale of any property of the land bank upon default in any obligation of the land bank, either in payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest or in the performance of any term or condition contained in any such agreement or instrument. The state, on behalf of itself and each county, municipal corporation, political subdivision, or taxing district therein, waives any right it or such county, municipal corporation, political subdivision, or taxing district may have to prevent the forced sale or foreclosure of any property of the land bank upon such default and agrees that any agreement or instrument encumbering such property may be foreclosed in accordance with law and the terms thereof;
   13. To receive and administer gifts, grants, and devises of money and property of any kind and to administer trusts;
   14. To use any real property, personal property, or fixtures or any interest therein or to rent or lease such property to or from others or make contracts with respect to the use thereof, or to sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge, or otherwise dispose of or grant options for any such property in any manner as it deems to be in the best interests of the land bank and the public purpose thereof;
   15. To procure insurance or guarantees from the General Assembly or federal government of the payments of any debts or parts thereof incurred by the land bank and to pay premiums in connection therewith;
   16. To enter into contracts and other instruments necessary, incidental, or convenient to the performance of its duties and the exercise of its powers, including, but not limited to, intergovernmental contracts for the joint exercise of powers under this article. Intergovernmental contracts with municipal corporations, counties, or consolidated governments may include contracts for the performance of services by municipal corporations, counties, or consolidated governments on behalf of the land bank or by the land bank on behalf of municipal corporations, counties, or consolidated governments, whether or not such counties, consolidated governments, or municipal corporations are located inside or outside the geographical boundaries of the land bank members;
   17. To procure insurance against losses in connection with the real property, assets, or activities of the land bank;
   18. To accept and issue deeds in its name, including without limitation the acceptance of real property in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2.1) of subsection (u) of Code Section 16-13-49;
   19. To finance by loan, grant, lease, or otherwise, refinance, construct, erect, assemble, purchase, acquire, own, repair, remodel, rehabilitate, modify, maintain, extend, improve, install, sell, equip, expand, add to, operate, or manage real property or rights or interests in property, and to pay the costs of any such project from the proceeds of loans by persons, corporations, partnerships, whether limited or general, or other entities, all of which the land bank is authorized to receive, accept, and use;
   20. To fix, charge, and collect rents, fees, and charges for the use of real property of the land bank and for services provided by the land bank;
   21. To grant or acquire a license, easement, lease, as lessor or lessee, or option with respect to real property of the land bank;
   22. To enter into partnerships, joint ventures, and other collaborative relationships with municipalities and other public and private entities for the ownership, management, development, and disposition of real property;
   23. To hold title to real property for purposes of establishing contracts with nonprofit community land trusts, including, but not limited to, long-term lease contracts;
   24. To organize and reorganize the executive, administrative, clerical, and other departments of the land bank and to fix the duties, powers, and compensation of all employees, agents, and consultants of the land bank; and
   25. To do all other things necessary or convenient to achieve the objectives and purposes of the land bank or other laws that relate to the purposes and responsibilities of the land bank.
2. The exercise of a specific power by a land bank may be limited or withdrawn by a land bank member when the land bank is acting with respect to real property within the jurisdiction of such member. Procedures for the exercise of such limitation or withdrawal of power shall be provided in the intergovernmental contract.

History. Code 1981, § 48-4-106 , enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 1055, § 2/SB 284.