All Applicants and Applications must submit or comply with this section.

1. (1) The requirements of this section are not effective until December 31, 2013. Any Projects submitted to the Department under a Reservation Agreement or Contract awarded prior to December 31, 2013 will not be required to provide Match as outlined in this section, except for Match that is proposed to meet Application threshold criteria. An itemized schedule of the proposed Match and evidence to support the Applicant's ability to provide the required Match is required at the time of submission. For Applications submitted to become an RSP, the Department may withhold disbursements if after every four reservations sufficient Match documentation has not been provided. The Department shall use population figures from the most recently available U.S. Census to determine the applicable tier for an Application. The Department may incentivize or provide preference to Applicants committing to provide additional Match above the requirement of this subsection. Such incentives may be established in the form of a threshold or selection criteria and may be different for each Activity. Except for Applications for disaster relief, Match shall be required based on the tiers described in subparagraphs (A) - (C) of this paragraph:

   1. (A) zero percent of Project funds is required as match if serving a city of less than 5,000 Persons or an unincorporated area of a county whose population in the total unincorporated area of the county is less than 25,000 Persons;
   2. (B) one percent Match for every 1,000 in population to a maximum of 12 percent match for projects in or contracts serving cities with a population greater than 5,000; and
   3. (C) one percent Match for every 10,000 in population in the total unincorporated area of the county to a maximum of 12 percent match for projects in or contracts serving the unincorporated area of a county.

2. (2) Documentation of a commitment of at least $80,000 or for a Contract award 80 percent of the award amount, whichever is less, in cash reserves to facilitate administration of the program and to ensure the capacity to cover costs prior to reimbursement or costs determined to be ineligible for reimbursement. Evidence of this commitment and the amount of the commitment must be included in the Applicant's resolution. To meet this requirement, Applicants must submit:

   1. (A) financial statements indicating adequate local unrestricted cash or cash equivalents to utilize as cash reserves and a letter from the Applicant's bank(s) or financial institution(s) indicating that current account balances are sufficient; or
   2. (B) evidence of an available line of credit or equivalent in an amount equal to or exceeding the requirement in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; or
   3. (C) the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) opinion letter from the most recent audit and a statement from the CPA that indicates, based on past experience with grant programs and past audits, the applicant has in place the best practices and financial capacity necessary in order to effectively administer a HOME Program award.

3. (3) Housing construction plans must meet the requirements of Chapter 20 of this title (relating to Single Family Programs Umbrella Rule).

   1. (A) The Department will reimburse only for the first time a set of architectural plans are used, unless any subsequent site specific fees are paid to a Third Party architect, or a licensed engineer; and
   2. (B) A Notice of funding Availability (NOFA) may include incentives or otherwise require architectural plans to incorporate "green building" elements.

Source Note:The provisions of this §23.30 adopted to be effective October 31, 2012, 37 TexReg 8482.