1. (a) Application forms. An applicant seeking program assistance from the Authority may use the application forms provided by the lender or by the Authority. Applications must include the information necessary to identify eligibility for the program.
2. (b) Submission of application. Applicants are required to work with a lender to complete application documents before submission to the Authority. Staff will be available prior to submission of the application to assist applicants and lenders in determining program eligibility.
3. (c) Staff review. Staff will review the application for completeness and will notify the applicant and/or the lender of any additional information required. When all required information has been received, staff will conduct a credit review, evaluate the proposed operation and examine its benefits for Texas agriculture and economic growth in the State.
4. (d) Board review. Staff will submit a credit memorandum to the Authority which shall include a recommendation for approval or denial for each application received by the program. The Authority will approve or deny each application by a majority vote of a quorum of members. The Authority may conditionally approve the application by imposing additional requirements.
5. (e) Notification of approval. Upon approval or conditional approval of the application the Authority will instruct staff to notify the applicant and the lender in writing identifying the terms and conditions of the loan. The Authority may set certain time limits regarding both the acceptance of a loan commitment and the closing of a loan by the applicant but in no event shall the time periods following notification exceed 30 days for acceptance and 90 days for closing unless approved in writing by the staff. The lender and/or the staff will prepare the written agreements and documents necessary to close the loan in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the notice of conditional approval. The Authority will send the lender and the applicant final notice of approval after review of the closing documents. The lender will close and disburse the loan according to the terms and conditions of the note and loan agreement.
6. (f) Denial of application. If the application is denied by the Authority, the Authority will instruct staff to notify the lender in writing identifying the reasons for denial. The lender will notify applicant in accordance with appropriate federal regulations. Any applicant denied may reapply to the program without payment of an additional application fee.
7. (g) Providing false information. An applicant who knowingly provides false information in an application shall be disqualified from obtaining a loan under the program and shall be liable to the Authority and the department for any expense incurred by the Authority or the department as a result of the falsity. If the falsity is discovered after approval of a loan, the falsity may constitute grounds for declaration of default of the loan, and the Authority shall be entitled to exercise all its rights under the loan documents. In addition, the applicant may be subject to the penalty provisions of the Act, §59.046 and §59.047.
8. (h) Reporting to the Authority. Staff shall report to the Authority at each meeting of the board the status of loans and current financial commitments of the Authority under the program.

Source Note:The provisions of this §24.9 adopted to be effective June 16, 1995, 20 TexReg 4047; amended to be effective July 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5685; amended to be effective September 16, 1997, 22 TexReg 9243; amended to be effective November 28, 1999, 24 TexReg 10319.