HARRISBURG - An anti-blight initiative that started in Schuylkill County a decade ago continues to build on a string of bipartisan victories.

The late Sen. James Rhoades, R-Mahanoy City, was an early proponent of giving local officials more power to rid the landscape of deserted and abandoned buildings that contribute to the deterioration of surrounding neighborhoods. He helped build a coalition that passed state laws to create a state housing trust fund and spurred the creation of local land banks to return blighted land to productive use and give local officials more tools to go after delinquent landlords.Some two dozen anti-blight bills are in the hopper this legislative session awaiting action as lawmakers return to Harrisburg. The Senate and House Democratic Policy Committees recently held a hearing in Pittsburgh to focus on the next steps in the anti-blight fight.Priority should be given to legislation to speed up the foreclosure of vacant and abandoned properties, said Sen. John Blake, D-Archbald, who attended the hearing.Blake and Sen. David Argall, R-Tamaqua, sponsored a bill to fast-track the foreclosure of properties that meet specific definitions for being vacant and abandoned. The goal? Get the property in the hands of responsible owners quicker, said Blake.A foreclosure occurs when lenders seize a property because the owner can't keep up with mortgage payments. The process can take more than 500 days.Under the bill, a municipal code officer or court could declare a property abandoned and vacant whereby a lender would start foreclosure."We think we can knock that foreclosure process down to 300 days," added Blake.The Senate approved a bill by Argall this session to provide funding so counties can demolish blighted buildings. The measure would allow counties to tack a fee up to $15 on recording deeds and mortgages to go to a demolition fund.The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors opposed the bill."Each fee piled onto the real estate transaction risks losing more first-time homebuyers," said Mark Mohn, an association official, at the Senate hearing.He suggested that policy makers consider alternatives such as voter bond referendums or social impact bonds to pay for blight work. With social impact bonds, an investor rehabilitates a blighted property. A municipality agrees to pay back the investor if the project is successful."I am very leery of this concept," Blake said.He said it has only been tried a handful of times for specific transactions. It's difficult to apply as a comprehensive policy, he added.Beyond legislation, there's a need to restore state and federal funding for community renewal programs, said Blake. State funding for Main Street and Elm Street programs and housing assistance and federal funding for community development block grants haven't recovered from budget cuts in Harrisburg and Washington."We simply aren't making the investment our local communities need," he added.