W. Va. Code R. § 145-7-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 145-7-4 - Neighborhood Investment Program Advisory Board

4.1. Composition of the Board. The Neighborhood Investment Program Advisory Board shall consist of thirteen members - the director of the Development Office plus twelve members appointed by the director. The director shall serve as chair but shall not vote unless it is necessary to break a tie. Four board members will be officers or members of boards of directors of unrelated corporations which are currently licensed to do business in West Virginia. Four board members will be executive directors, officers or members of boards of directors of unrelated not-for-profit organizations which currently hold charitable organization status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and which are currently licensed to do business in West Virginia. Four board members will be economically disadvantaged citizens of the State. An appointee shall be considered an economically disadvantaged citizen of this State if, in the taxable year immediately preceding appointment to the board, he or she had an annual gross income that is not more than 125 percent of the federal designated poverty level for personal incomes, and who has been domiciled in and a resident of this State for at least one year at the time of his or her appointment. A board member appointed to represent economically disadvantaged citizens may serve out his or her term of original appointment even if his or her income in a subsequent taxable year exceeds 125 percent of the federal designated poverty level. No more than four of the twelve appointed members may be from the same Congressional District and no more than seven of the appointed members may be from the same political party. Members are eligible for reappointment, but no member may serve more than three consecutive terms.

4.2. Terms of Board Members. Except for initial appointments, board members shall be appointed for three years. Appointments shall begin the 1st day of July in the year of appointment and end the 30th day of June of the third calendar year following the calendar year in which the appointment took effect. Initial appointments shall be as follows: Four of the initial appointments shall be for a term of one year, four initial appointments shall be for a term of two years, and four initial appointments shall be for a term of three years. The three categories of board members will be represented in each term class appointed. Appointments to fill unexpired terms shall be for the duration of the term. Members shall be eligible for reappointment, but shall not serve more than three consecutive terms.

4.3. Meetings. The board shall meet at least two times during each fiscal year provided that no meeting of the board shall be required if the total amount of tax credits available for the fiscal year have been allocated. Additional meetings may be held upon the call of the chairperson or by a written request to the chairperson by a majority of the members. Seven members of the board, including the chairperson, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The board shall elect from among its members a vice chair and a secretary. These officers shall serve two year terms and are eligible for reelection.

4.4. Annual Report. The Board shall submit an annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature within thirty days after the close of each fiscal year beginning with Fiscal Year 1997. The annual report shall include summaries of all meetings of the Board; an analysis of the overall progress of the program; a discussion of fiscal concerns, if any; the relative impact the program is having on the State; and any suggestions and policy recommendations of the Board. Beginning on the fifteenth day of December 2005, and every third year thereafter, the Director of the West Virginia Development Office shall also secure an independent review of the program and present the findings to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.

4.5. Duties of the Board.

4.5.1. The Board shall select and approve projects which may be certified by the director. Only projects sponsored by a qualified charitable organization may be approved by the Board and certified by the director. An applicant that does not hold current status as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may not receive project approval from the Board or project certification from the director for any proposed project. A copy of the applicant's certification as a 501(c)(3) organization must be submitted with the application.

4.5.2. Board members shall not be prohibited from being involved in fund raising activities of any charitable organization for which they serve as a member of the board or as an officer. If an applicant is directly or indirectly affiliated with one or more board members, those members shall not discuss the proposals with one or more board members and shall not have a vote when that project is considered for final approval or disapproval.

4.6. Criteria for Evaluating Proposed Project Plans. In evaluating projects for approval, the Board shall give priority to projects based upon the following criteria:

4.6.1. Whether the project is community based. A project is community based if it will be managed locally without national, state, multi-state or international affiliations; the project will benefit local citizens in the immediate geographic area where the project is to operate; and the sponsor of the project is a local entity rather than a statewide, national or international organization or an affiliate of a state wide, national or international organization;

4.6.2. The proposed project will primarily serve low income persons;

4.6.3. The proposed project will serve highly stressed neighborhoods or communities;

4.6.4. The project incorporates collaborative partnerships among nonprofit groups, businesses, government organizations and other community organizations;

4.6.5. The applicant or sponsor of the project has demonstrated a proven capacity to deliver the proposed services;

4.6.6. The applicant or sponsor of the project has a history of fundraising activity and historically maintains low administrative costs;

4.6.7. The applicant produces a strong showing of need for the services which the proposed project would provide, and produces convincing documentation of that need; and

4.6.8. The proposed project is innovative, novel, creative or unique in program approach.

4.6.9. The proposed project is a direct needs programmer who will provide emergency assistance.

4.7. Conflict of Interest. If an applicant for project certification is directly or indirectly affiliated with one or more Board members, those members may not discuss and may not vote when the project is considered for final approval or disapproval by the Board.

4.8. Project Approval.

4.8.1. Proposed projects must be approved by majority vote of those members present taken after competitive comparison of projects under consideration. All complete and valid applications received at least ten business days prior to the next regular meeting of the Board must be considered at the next regular meeting and at such continuing meetings of the Board as may be necessary to dispose of its business in a timely manner. At its sole discretion, the Board may consider applications at special or interim meetings.

4.8.2. The Board reserves the right to approve less than the full amount of credits requested by the project transferee in their application. If the amount awarded by the Board is less than the full amount sought by the project transferee, the Board may also approve a supplemental amount of credits to become available on or after March 31 of the state fiscal year if sufficient credits remain unallocated as of that date or if credits have been returned from previously approved projects: Provided, that the project transferee receiving supplemental credit approval shall, on or before March 15 of the state fiscal year, have issued (or have sufficient written documentation to show the clear intent of a donor to contribute) one hundred percent of the credits they were initially awarded. For purposes of project certification by the director in accordance with subsection 4.9.a of these rules, projects approved under 4.8.a and eligible for supplemental credits shall be deemed approved by the Board for receipt of supplemental credits on March 31 of the state fiscal year in which they were considered.

4.8.3. If the Board approves supplemental credits to more than one project transferee, the Board shall competitively rank the projects receiving supplemental credit approval and, if the project transferee has met the requirements of Section 4.8.2., credits available on or after March 31 of the state fiscal year shall be made available by the director of the Development Office in the order projects were competitively ranked by the Board. Credits will be made available by the director until such time as the full amount of available credits has been awarded.

4.8.4. Project transferees may return credits to the Development Office that they do not anticipate using in the state fiscal year in which they were awarded. Project transferees that have issued less than seventy percent of their authorized credits prior to March 15 of the state fiscal year in which they were awarded, and do not have sufficient written documentation to show the clear intent of a donor to contribute, may be directed by the director of the Development Office to return the remainder of the credits previously authorized by the Board.

4.9. Project Certification by Director.

4.9.1. Upon approval of a project by the Board, the project shall be submitted to the director of the Development Office. Within sixty days after the close of any regular meeting of the Board, the director must certify or deny certification of all proposed projects considered by the Board since the preceding regular meeting; provided, however, that the Board may defer consideration of an application for the purpose of obtaining additional information about the project or applicant. If additional information is requested by the Board related to any application, the application shall remain eligible for consideration at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board. Applications for which additional information is not requested and which are not certified by the director within the 60-day period are deemed disapproved by operation of law. All applications filed in any state fiscal year and not certified during the fiscal year in which they are filed are null and void on the last day of that fiscal year and a new application for project certification must be filed with the Development Office on or after the 1st day of July of the next fiscal year.

4.9.2. No certification may be issued for any project, even if approved by the Board, if the issuance of certification for the project will cause the aggregate amount of tax credits certified to exceed the limitation of $3 million per state fiscal year. If tax credits are returned by a project transferee pursuant to subsection 4.8.d of these rules, the director may reissue certification for those credits returned. No certification of a project may be issued by the director for any project that was not approved by the Board. The Development Office must promptly notify applicants of the issuance of certification for their project and issue tax credit vouchers to certified project applicants in the amount of the tax credit represented by the project.

4.10. Transferee Reports. Project transferees shall file a quarterly report with the Development Office on the progress of their certified project. The reports shall be filed in a form approved by the director.

4.11. Quarterly Reports. The director shall report quarterly to the Board on the progress of certified projects and on the program generally.

W. Va. Code R. § 145-7-4