(1) Letters of intent and applications for tax credits shall be prepared and submitted in conformance with the criteria and requirements contained in the QAP.

(2) Letters of intent and applications shall be submitted to the board on the dates specified in or otherwise designated according to the QAP. The board may extend or change any of the submission or presentation dates or deadlines specified in the QAP if circumstances warrant, and in such event, the board will provide notice of such extension or change by posting on its web site.

(3) At a board meeting after the application letter of intent submission deadline and before the application submission deadline, board staff will present letters of intent to the board, all according to the provisions of the QAP. The board may ask questions of applicants and discuss proposed projects, but there will be no applicant presentations and the board will not make any award determination at this meeting. Board questions, comments, and discussion are for purposes of assisting applicants in presenting better applications and shall not be binding upon the board in any later award determination or other board process.

(4) Following submission of applications, board staff will evaluate each application for conformance with the threshold and other requirements of the QAP. Applications meeting all minimum threshold requirements and not excluded from further consideration under the QAP will be evaluated for the amount of tax credits needed for feasibility and long-term viability and will be further evaluated and scored according to the development evaluation criteria of the QAP. The points awarded to each project pursuant to the evaluation criteria of the QAP are for the purposes specified in (9), and not for purposes of ranking projects for allocation of tax credits. Following application evaluation and scoring, board staff may provide recommendations to the board for allocation of tax credits to qualifying projects.

(5) After application submission, the board will provide an opportunity for applicants to make a presentation to the board regarding their projects and applications and will provide an opportunity for public comment on proposed projects and applications, all according to the provisions of the QAP.

(6) Copies of applications and other information submitted to the board in connection with applications are available to other applicants for tax credit projects and members of the public to the extent provided and according to the procedures specified in the QAP.

(7) At one or more regularly scheduled board meetings each year, as specified in or otherwise designated according to the QAP, the board will hear public comment and consider award of tax credit allocations in accordance with the QAP. The award of tax credit allocations is not a contested case and the award meeting is not a contested case hearing under Title 2, chapter 4, part 6, MCA.

(8) At the award determination meeting provided under (7), applicants should be available to the board to answer questions regarding their respective applications and shall be provided an opportunity to respond to any negative comments regarding their respective projects or applications.

(9) The board will select those projects to receive an award of tax credits that it determines best meet the most pressing housing needs of low income people within the state of Montana, taking into consideration the selection criteria as defined in the QAP. The awarding of points to projects pursuant to the development evaluation criteria of the QAP is for purposes of determining that the projects meet at least the minimum criteria required for further consideration under the QAP and to assist the board in evaluating and comparing projects. Development evaluation criteria scoring is only one of several considerations taken into account by the board and does not control the selection of projects that will receive an award of tax credits. In addition to any other selection criteria specified in the QAP, the board may consider the following factors in selecting projects for an award of tax credits to qualifying projects:

(a) the geographical distribution of tax credit projects;

(b) the rural or urban location of the projects;

(c) the overall income levels targeted by the projects;

(d) the need for affordable housing in the community, including but not limited to current vacancy rates;

(e) rehabilitation of existing low income housing stock;

(f) sustainable energy savings initiatives;

(g) financial and operational ability of the applicant to fund, complete, and maintain the project through the extended use period;

(h) past performance of an applicant in initiating and completing tax credit projects;

(i) cost of construction, land, and utilities, including but not limited to costs/credits per square foot/unit; and/or

(j) the frequency of awards in the respective areas where projects are located.