49. a. The authority shall award tax credits under the program through a competitive application process consisting of up to two award rounds each year. The authority shall provide notice to the public of the opening and closing dates for submission of program applications on the authority’s Internet website.

b. (1) The authority shall review applications for tax credits submitted to the authority by the deadline date of the award round and shall evaluate each application as if it were received on the deadline date, without providing any preference for early submissions. To determine priority for an award of a tax credit, all applications for community-anchored projects that satisfy the criteria set forth in sections 47 and 48 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C. 34:1B-315 and C. 34:1B-316) in a given award round shall be ranked on the basis of a scoring system developed by the authority through regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.). Prior to the commencement of an award round, the authority shall determine the minimum score for the award round that an anchor institution or, if applicable, each partner anchor institution is required to attain to be eligible for a tax credit.

(2) The authority may establish different criteria for community-anchored projects that are located in a New Jersey State opportunity zone and community-anchored projects that are primarily designed to result in the economic expansion of a targeted industry in this State.

c. The scoring system developed by the authority pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall assess applications for tax credits based on the following competitive criteria, which shall include, but shall not be limited to:

(1) the amount of tax credit requested by the anchor institution and, if applicable, each partner anchor institution compared to the overall investments required for the completion of the community-anchored project, along with the amount of the potential return on the authority’s investment of tax credits to the State by the end of the commitment period, the amount of the tax credit, if any, that is unlikely to be realized as a return on investment to the State, and the proposed terms and structure for the authority’s investment in the project, including applicable current and deferred returns;

(2) the financial benefit of the community-anchored project to the community in which the community-anchored project will be located;

(3) apprenticeships or workforce programs to be offered because of the community-anchored project;

(4) the ability of the community-anchored project to absorb and adapt to changing environmental conditions and deliver its objectives;

(5) how the community-anchored project will advance State, regional, and local development and planning strategies;

(6) the relationship of the community-anchored project to a comprehensive local development strategy, including its relation to other development and redevelopment projects in the municipality;

(7) the degree to which the community-anchored project enhances and promotes job creation and economic development;

(8) the extent of economic and related social distress in the municipality and the immediate area surrounding the community-anchored project;

(9) the extent to which the community-anchored project provides for the development of housing for individuals with special needs;

(10) the extent to which the community-anchored project constitutes the expansion of the anchor institution and, if applicable, each partner anchor institution to different areas of the State;

(11) the extent to which the community-anchored project provides for infrastructure, parking, retail, green space, or other public amenities creating a mixed-use community-anchored project;

(12) the inclusion of a qualified business accelerator or incubator facility as a part of the community-anchored project;

(13) the length of the commitment period for the community-anchored project;

(14) the quality and number of new full-time jobs that will be created by the anchor institution, partner anchor institution or a partner business at the community-anchored project;

(15) the quality and number of existing full-time jobs that will be retained by the anchor institution, partner anchor institution, or a partner business in the State as a result of completing the community-anchored project, with the criteria specifying, in scoring the application, that the retention of an existing full-time job shall be given not more than one-third the weight of a new full-time job of a similar quality; and

(16) if the anchor institution has a board of directors, the extent to which that board of directors is diverse and representative of the community in which the community-anchored project is located.

d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection c. of this section, the authority may adopt, pursuant to the provisions of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations adjusting competitive criteria required under the program when necessary to respond to the prevailing economic conditions in the State.

e. Prior to the award of a tax credit to an anchor institution or, if applicable, each partner anchor institution, to be converted into an authority investment in a community-anchored project, the authority shall confirm with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of the Treasury that the anchor institution and, if applicable, each partner anchor institution, along with any partner business identified in a program application, is in substantial good standing with the respective department, or has entered into an agreement with the respective department that includes a practical corrective action plan for the anchor institution and, if applicable, each partner anchor institution and any partner business, and the anchor institution shall confirm that any contractors and subcontractors performing work at the community-anchored project: (1) are registered as required by “The Public Works Contractor Registration Act,” P.L.1999, c.238 (C. 34:11-56.48 et seq.); (2) have not been debarred by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development from engaging in or bidding on Public Works Contracts in the State; and (3) possess a tax clearance certificate issued by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury. Provided that all parties are in compliance with this subsection, the authority shall allocate tax credits to community-anchored projects according to the community-anchored project’s score and until either the available tax credits are exhausted or all community-anchored projects obtaining the minimum score receive a tax credit, whichever occurs first. If insufficient funding exists to fully fund all eligible community-anchored projects, a community-anchored project may be offered partial funding.

f. Applications that do not receive the minimum score established by the authority for that award round shall not receive further consideration for a tax credit by the authority in that award round; however, an anchor institution or partner anchor institution may revise or complete a new application to be submitted in a subsequent award round.

g. If an anchor institution or partner anchor institution declines a tax credit offered by the authority, the authority shall offer the tax credit to the applicant with the application having the next highest score, and having obtained at least the minimum score in that award round.

L.2020, c.156, s.49; amended 2021, c.160, s.20.