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

(2) Pre-applications 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 pre-application or application 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 pre-application submission deadline and before the application submission deadline, the board will provide an opportunity for applicants to present their respective projects and pre-applications to the board and will provide an opportunity for public comment on proposed projects and pre-applications, all according to the provisions of the QAP. The board may ask questions of applicants and discuss proposed projects, but will not make any award determination at this meeting. Presentations, questions, and discussion are for purposes of assisting applicants in presenting better full applications and shall not be binding upon the board in any later award determination or other board process.

(4) Following submission of full 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 evaluated and scored according to the development evaluation criteria of the QAP. The points awarded to each project are for the purposes specified in (9), below, 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) At the board's meeting in the month of full application submission, the board will provide an opportunity for applicants to again make a presentation regarding their projects and applications to the board and will provide an opportunity for public comment on proposed projects and applications, all according to the provisions of the QAP.

(6) Copies of all applications submitted to the board are available to other applicants for tax credit projects and members of the public under the provisions contained in the QAP.

(7) At one or more regularly scheduled board meeting 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 (6), applicants

should be available to the board to answer questions regarding their respective applications and shall be provided an opportunity at the board meeting described in (6) to respond to any negative comments regarding their respective projects or applications.

(9) The board will select those projects to receive an allocation 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 evaluation criteria of the QAP is for the purposes of determining that the projects meet at least a minimum threshold for further consideration under the QAP and assist the board in evaluating and comparing projects. 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 or allocation 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 or allocation 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;

(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; and

(i) cost of construction, land, and utilities.