1. (a) The Arkansas Economic Development Commission shall begin accepting applications on July 15, 2013.

2. (b) The application process:

   1. (1) A QCDE submits an application and requisite fees to the commission seeking certification of the proposed equity investment or long-term debt security as a qualified equity investment; and

   2. (2)

      1. (A) Within thirty (30) days after receipt of a completed application, the commission grants or denies the application in full or in part.
      2. (B) If any part of the application is denied, the commission informs the applicant of the grounds for denial.
      3. (C)

3. (i) If the application is denied as incomplete and the applicant provides the additional information or documentation required by the commission or otherwise completes its application within fifteen (15) days of the notice of denial, the application shall be considered completed as of the original date of submission.

   1. (ii) If the applicant fails to provide the requested information or complete its application within the fifteen-day period, the application:
4. (a) (a) Remains denied; and

5. (b) (b) Must be resubmitted in full with a new submission date.

   1. (c) The certification process:

   2. (1)

      1. (A) If the commission determines that the application is complete and meets all application requirements, the commission provides written notice to the applicant certifying that the proposed equity investment or long-term debt security, including the names, if known, of each entity that will earn the tax credit and their respective tax credit amounts, is eligible for a new market tax credit subject to any limitations in Arkansas Code § 15-4-3605(d).
      2. (B) If a pending request cannot be fully certified because of this limitation, the commission shall certify the portion that may be certified unless the QCDE elects to withdraw its request rather than receive partial certification.
      3. (C) Any changes to the names of these entities as the result of a transfer of a qualified equity investment or an allocation under Arkansas Code § 15-4-3604(b) shall be communicated to the commission by the QCDE;

   3. (2)

      1. (A) The commission shall certify qualified equity investments in the order the applications are received by the commission.
      2. (B) Applications received on the same day shall be deemed to have been received simultaneously; and

   4. (3) For applications that are complete and meet the requirements of the New Markets Jobs Act of 2013, Arkansas Code § 15-4-3601 et seq., and are received on the same day, the commission shall certify, consistent with the remaining qualified equity investment capacity, the qualified equity investments in proportionate percentages based on the ratio of the amount of qualified equity investment requested in an application to the total amount of qualified equity investments requested in all applications received on the same day.

      1. (d) In accordance with Arkansas Code § 15-4-3605(d), the commission shall certify up to one hundred sixty-six million dollars ($166,000,000) in qualified equity investments.

Codification Notes: "QCDE" means qualified community development entity.