| (a) General information.
(1) An applicant community must be a unit of general
local government.
(2) Sponsor required.
(A) The applicant must designate a sponsor that will
be responsible for working with the department during the application
process and will serve as the primary contact for disseminating information
to potential retirees through the Program if the certification is
granted. The sponsor should be a recognizable entity within the community,
have a physical location with regular office hours, and should have
the capacity and resources to manage the community's retirement recruitment
efforts.
(B) After approval, a Go Texan Certified Retirement
Community may change the sponsor by notifying the department in writing.
(3) Program guidelines and applications are available
on the agency website www.retireintexas.org, or from Texas Department
of Agriculture, Marketing and International Trade, P.O. Box 12847,
Austin, Texas 78711.
(4) Each applicant must submit a completed application
to: Texas Department of Agriculture, Marketing and International Trade,
P.O. Box 12076, Austin, Texas 78711.
(5) No changes to the application will be allowed after
the application is submitted, unless they are a result of Staff recommendations.
(b) Applications must be submitted within the time
prescribed by the department and include:
(1) a completed score sheet as provided in the Program
Guidelines;
(2) a completed retiree desirability assessment to
include the following information regarding the applicant community:
(A) information on the applicant's demographics, geography
and climate;
(B) Texas state and local tax structure;
(C) local housing availability, opportunities and cost;
(D) climate;
(E) personal safety or security;
(F) employment opportunities;
(G) availability of health care services and other
services along the continuum of care, including home-based and community-based
services, housing for the elderly, assisted living, personal care,
and nursing care facilities;
(H) availability of emergency medical services and
the name and location of any hospital within a 75-mile radius of the
community;
(I) public transportation and major highways;
(J) continuing education;
(K) leisure living;
(L) recreation areas and facilities;
(M) the performing arts;
(N) festivals and events;
(O) sports at all levels;
(P) crime statistics;
(Q) any other information requested by the department.
(3) evidence of support from area businesses, churches,
clubs, media, and other entities, as necessary for the success of
the program in the community;
(4) a marketing plan detailing the Program's mission
as applied to the community, the target market, the competition, an
analysis of the community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
dangers, and the strategies the community will employ to attain the
goals of the Program;
(5) a long-term plan outlining the steps the community
will undertake to maintain its desirability as a destination for retirees,
including an outline of plans to correct any facility and service
deficiencies identified in the retiree desirability assessment; and
(6) any other information required by the Program Guidelines.
(c) Review and approval.
(1) Staff will score the applications and review the
applications for eligibility and completeness.
(2) Applicant will be notified of any deficiencies
and given 20 days to rectify deficiencies. Staff may work with the
applicant to improve or modify the application, with the intent of
helping the applicant achieve certification. An application containing
an excessive number of deficiencies, or deficiencies of a material
nature may not be considered for certification.
(3) After the scoring and application process is complete,
Staff will make a recommendation for approval or denial of the request
for certification to the commissioner. The commissioner will make
the final decision regarding certification.
(4) The department will notify the applicant of approval
or denial of the application within 75 days of the date of receipt
of the completed application.
(d) Upon notice of approval of the application, an
application fee must be promptly submitted in an amount equal to the
greater of:
(1) $5,000; or
(2) $0.25 multiplied by the population of the community,
as determined by the most recent census.
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