SECTION 363.1006. Prioritization System

(a) The executive administrator will prioritize all applications in accordance with §363.1007 of this title and may prioritize projects under §363.1007(b) and (c) separately. The executive administrator will provide the prioritization to the board for approval. The executive administrator may set additional application deadlines, prioritize applications, and present the prioritization and those applications to the board for a commitment if the executive administrator deems it necessary in order to utilize available funds in any fiscal year. To be considered for prioritization, an applicant must provide adequate information to establish that the applicant qualifies for state participation funding, to describe the project comprehensively, and to establish the cost of the project, as well as any other information requested by the executive administrator. The executive administrator will develop and provide to applicants detailed information on the abridged application necessary for prioritization. If an applicant submits an abridged application for prioritization purposes, the applicant must submit a complete application to the board within 30 days after the board meeting at which the applicant's project received priority for funding, or the project will lose its priority ranking and the board may commit to other projects consistent with the prioritization.

(b) Prior to each board meeting at which applications may be considered, the executive administrator shall:

(1) for each application that the executive administrator has determined has adequate information for prioritization purposes, prioritize the applications using the criteria identified in §363.1007 of this title (relating to Prioritization Criteria).

(2) provide to the board a prioritized list of all applications as recommended by the executive administrator, the amount of funds requested and the priority of each application received; and

(3) identify to the board, the total amount of funds available in the State Participation Account for new applications.

(c) When making commitments for financial assistance from the State Participation Account, the board will consider projects in descending numerical order based on the priority assigned to the application according to §363.1007 of this title. The board will consider the next application on each list only if there are funds available in the account and allocated to the type of projects under consideration sufficient to fund all or, if acceptable to the applicant, a part of the application.

(d) The board shall determine the amount of funds available for water plan projects and shall prioritize and consider those separately from projects that are not water plan projects.

Source Note: The provisions of this §363.1006 adopted to be effective October 8, 2002, 27 TexReg 9382; amended to be effective August 5, 2003, 28 TexReg 6026; amended to be effective December 25, 2007, 32 TexReg 9721; amended to be effective April 15, 2009, 34 TexReg 2385; amended to be effective February 9, 2023, 48 TexReg 520