(a) (1) For each fiscal year, a nonprofit organization may submit to the Department, for approval under the Neighborhood and Community Assistance Program, a proposal for a project to provide services to a priority funding area.

(2) The project may include:

(i) community services, including child care and recreational services;

(ii) redevelopment assistance;

(iii) job training for individuals whose incomes do not exceed the upper income limits that the Secretary sets under § 4-212 of this article;

(iv) education; and

(v) crime prevention.

(b) A proposal under this section shall include:

(1) the project to be conducted;

(2) the priority funding area that will benefit from the project;

(3) a description of the applicant’s experience and capabilities;

(4) the estimated costs of the project;

(5) a description of the plans for implementing the project; and

(6) any other information that the Department determines is necessary.

(c) (1) The Department shall provide written notice to the political subdivision in which the proposed project is located.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, the Department may not approve a proposal submitted under this section unless the proposal is approved by the governing body or authorized designee of:

(i) each county that includes any of the priority funding area that benefits from the project, if the project is not in a municipal corporation;

(ii) each municipal corporation that includes any of the priority funding area that benefits from the project; or

(iii) each political subdivision that includes any of the priority funding area that benefits from the project, if the priority funding area is partly within and partly outside of any municipal corporation.

(3) An approval shall:

(i) be in writing; and

(ii) state the maximum amount of contributions to the approved project that are eligible for a tax credit under § 6-404 of this subtitle.

(4) If the Department does not receive notice of approval or denial of an application from the affected jurisdictions within 45 days after notice of the proposed project is given in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Department may approve the application.

(5) The sum of contributions eligible for a tax credit under § 6-404 of this subtitle for all approved projects for a fiscal year may not exceed $3,500,000.

(d) In approving or disapproving a proposal and in determining the maximum amount of contributions eligible for tax credits under § 6-404 of this subtitle, the Department:

(1) shall consider:

(i) the need for the project in relation to the need for other proposed projects;

(ii) the anticipated benefit to the priority funding area;

(iii) the capacity of the applicant to raise money for the project;

(iv) the readiness of the applicant to proceed with the project;

(v) the ability of the applicant to complete the project as proposed;

(vi) the geographic distribution of projects; and

(vii) any other relevant factors;

(2) may give preference to a proposal that benefits:

(i) a sustainable community under § 6-305 of this title; or

(ii) a neighborhood conservation district that is locally designated in coordination with the Department’s Neighborhood and Community Assistance Program;

(3) may request data and assistance from other units of the State; and

(4) shall apportion among all approved projects the limit imposed by subsection (c)(5) of this section.