(1) Tax credit allocation will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis based upon the date and time complete applications are received by the Department’s Division of Waste Management.
    (2) Complete applications will secure a position in the first-come, first-served application line for allocation of tax credits and will be reviewed for eligibility, in conjunction with the applicable CPA and technical professional documents, to verify that the work was either integral to site rehabilitation or was for solid waste removal; that the work claimed was performed in the applicable timeframe; and that the costs claimed were properly documented. Complete applications for bonus tax credits with no site rehabilitation or solid waste removal component will be part of the same first-come, first-served application line. Incomplete applications will not secure a position in the first-come, first-served order for allocation of tax credits, and shall instead be addressed pursuant to subsection (3) below, as applicable.
    (3) When an application is determined to be incomplete, either by the tax credit applicant or by the Department, the process to cure the application is guided by the timing this determination is made in relation to the annual application deadline and the type of application submitted:
    (a) If, after initial submittal of an annual site rehabilitation application, but prior to the January 31 annual application deadline, pursuant to subsection 62-788.301(3), F.A.C., the tax credit applicant can correct and re-submit the application by the January 31 annual application deadline. In this case, the application’s place in the first-come, first-served order line would be the date and time the corrected application (or supplemental material) was received by the Department.
    (b) If after the January 31 annual application deadline, the Department determines that the annual tax credit application is incomplete, the Department shall notify the tax credit applicant in writing by the method indicated on the application form. The tax credit applicant shall have 30 days after receiving such notification to correct any deficiencies. Upon timely correction of any deficiencies, as evidenced by the date and time that the now complete tax credit application is received by the Department, the application shall secure a place in the first-come, first-served application line and shall be processed pursuant to subsection (2) above. However, tax credit applicants correcting completeness deficiencies identified by the Department cannot otherwise change or supplement their application.
    (c) Tax credit applicants not subject to the January 31 annual application deadline (i.e., solid waste or any bonus application with no annual site rehabilitation component) shall have one opportunity to correct completeness deficiencies identified by the Department in the original submittal. The Department shall notify such tax credit applicants in writing by the method indicated on the application form. The tax credit applicant shall have 30 days after receiving such notification to correct any deficiencies. Upon timely correction of any deficiencies, as evidenced by the date and time that the now complete tax credit application is received by the Department, the application shall secure a place in the first-come, first-served application line and shall be processed pursuant to subsection (2) above. However, tax credit applicants correcting completeness deficiencies identified by the Department cannot otherwise change or supplement their application, including the addition of supplemental solid waste removal costs, if applicable.
    (4) The Department will review the complete tax credit application package submitted by each tax credit applicant to verify that the tax credit applicant has met the qualifying statutory and rule criteria and has submitted all required documentation. Upon verification that the tax credit applicant has met such completeness requirements, the Department shall have until May 1 (for annual site rehabilitation applications subject to the January 31 deadline) to issue a written decision granting eligibility for tax credits, in accordance with the percentages and the amounts specified in Table 1. The May 1 deadline for annual site rehabilitation tax credit certificate awards shall not apply to any tax credit application for which the Department has issued a notice of deficiency pursuant to Fl. Admin. Code R. 62-788.401(3)(b); instead, the Department shall respond to those applications within 90 days of receiving the completing documentation. The Department shall respond to any solid waste or bonus application with no annual site rehabilitation component within 90 days of the date the application is deemed complete.
    (5) If multiple tax credit applicants are submitting a joint application, each tax credit applicant shall receive a separate order (and tax credit certificate) awarding tax credits in the same proportion as their contribution toward payment of site rehabilitation costs or solid waste removal costs, as applicable. Tax credits for bonus applications submitted by multiple tax credit applicants will similarly be awarded in the same proportion as the tax credit applicants’ contribution toward payment of site rehabilitation costs.
    (6) The Department shall be responsible for allocating the tax credits not to exceed the amount authorized annually pursuant to Florida Statutes § 376.30781
    (7) This rule shall be reviewed, and if necessary, repealed or renewed through the rulemaking process five years from the effective date.
Rulemaking Authority 376.30781 FS. Law Implemented 220.1845, 376.30781 FS. History-New 3-9-22.