(1) A qualified community development entity that seeks to have an equity investment or long-term debt security designated as a qualified equity investment and eligible for tax credits under the New Markets Job Growth Investment Act shall apply to the Tax Commissioner. There shall be no new applications for such designation filed under this section after December 31, 2029. The Tax Commissioner shall begin accepting applications with respect to the 2021 allocation not less than thirty days or more than forty-five days after the 2021 federal notice.

(2) The qualified community development entity shall submit an application on a form that the Tax Commissioner provides that includes:

(a) Evidence of the entity's certification as a qualified community development entity, including evidence of the service area of the entity that includes this state;

(b) A copy of the allocation agreement executed by the entity, or its controlling entity, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund referred to in section 77-1109;

(c) A certificate executed by an executive officer of the entity attesting that the allocation agreement remains in effect and has not been revoked or canceled by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund referred to in section 77-1109;

(d) A description of the proposed amount, structure, and purchaser of the equity investment or long-term debt security;

(e) Identifying information for any taxpayer eligible to utilize tax credits earned as a result of the issuance of the qualified equity investment;

(f) Information regarding the proposed use of proceeds from the issuance of the qualified equity investment;

(g) A nonrefundable application fee of five thousand dollars; and

(h) With respect to applications for the 2021 allocation, the amount of qualified equity investment authority the applicant agrees to designate as a federal qualified equity investment under section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including a copy of the screen shot from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund's Allocation Tracking System of the applicant's remaining federal qualified equity investment authority.

(3) Within thirty days after receipt of a completed application containing the information necessary for the Tax Commissioner to certify a potential qualified equity investment, including the payment of the application fee, the Tax Commissioner shall grant or deny the application in full or in part. If the Tax Commissioner denies any part of the application, the Tax Commissioner shall inform the qualified community development entity of the grounds for the denial. If the qualified community development entity provides any additional information required by the Tax Commissioner or otherwise completes its application within fifteen days after the notice of denial, the application shall be considered completed as of the original date of submission. If the qualified community development entity fails to provide the information or complete its application within the fifteen-day period, the application remains denied and must be resubmitted in full with a new submission date.

(4) If the application is deemed complete, the Tax Commissioner shall certify the proposed equity investment or long-term debt security as a qualified equity investment that is eligible for tax credits, subject to the limitations contained in section 77-1115. The Tax Commissioner shall provide written notice of the certification to the qualified community development entity. The notice shall include the names of those taxpayers who are eligible to utilize the credits and their respective credit amounts. If the names of the taxpayers who are eligible to utilize the credits change due to a transfer of a qualified equity investment or a change in an allocation pursuant to section 77-1114, the qualified community development entity shall notify the Tax Commissioner of such change.

(5) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, the Tax Commissioner shall certify qualified equity investments in the order applications are received. Applications received on the same day shall be deemed to have been received simultaneously. For applications received on the same day and deemed complete, the Tax Commissioner shall certify, consistent with remaining tax credit capacity, qualified equity investments in proportionate percentages based upon the ratio of the amount of qualified equity investment requested in an application to the total amount of qualified equity investments requested in all applications received on the same day.

(6) With respect to applications for the 2021 allocation, the Tax Commissioner shall certify applications by applicants that agree to designate qualified equity investments as federal qualified equity investments in accordance with subdivision (2)(h) of this section in proportionate percentages based upon the ratio of the amount of qualified equity investments requested in an application to be designated as federal qualified equity investments to the total amount of qualified equity investments to be designated as federal qualified equity investments requested in all applications received on the same day.

(7) Once the Tax Commissioner has certified qualified equity investments that, on a cumulative basis, are eligible for the maximum limitation contained in section 77-1115 or the maximum amount of qualified equity investments authorized pursuant to the 2021 allocation, the Tax Commissioner may not certify any more qualified equity investments for that fiscal year. If a pending request cannot be fully certified, the Tax Commissioner shall certify the portion that may be certified unless the qualified community development entity elects to withdraw its request rather than receive partial credit.

(8) Within thirty days after receiving notice of certification, the qualified community development entity shall issue the qualified equity investment and receive cash in the amount of the certified amount and, with respect to the 2021 allocation, designate the required amount of qualified equity investment authority as a federal qualified equity investment. The qualified community development entity shall provide the Tax Commissioner with evidence of the receipt of the cash investment within ten business days after receipt and, with respect to the 2021 allocation, provide evidence that the required amount of qualified equity investment authority was designated as a federal qualified equity investment. If the qualified community development entity does not receive the cash investment and issue the qualified equity investment within thirty days after receipt of the certification notice and, with respect to the 2021 allocation, make the required federal qualified equity investment designation, the certification shall lapse and the entity may not issue the qualified equity investment without reapplying to the Tax Commissioner for certification. A certification that lapses reverts back to the Tax Commissioner and may be reissued only in accordance with the application process outlined in this section.