Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 5.djvu/667

 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 104 STAT. 3989 (6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY REVOLVING FUND REQUIREMENT. —To be eligible to receive a line of credit from the Rural Fund, the applicant eligible entity shall— (A) demonstrate its ability or potential capacity to make sound business, lending, and investment decisions and to provide business counseling and technical assistance; (B) demonstrate its ability to operate consistent with the requirements of this chapter and to increase the availability of credit in rural areas to promote the creation or expansion of viable businesses in rural areas; (C) identify the proposed service area and define a strategy for serving that area that should describe such characteristics as similar industrial, labor, or other markets, similar geographic or socioeconomic conditions, or other related considerations, and, to the extent that such area includes any towns or townships, make a commitment to serve such towns or townships in their entirety; (D) provide an assurance that its service area will consist of— (i) all rural areas in a county if the median household income of the county is less than the Statewide nonmetropolitan median household income; or (ii) identified rural areas in a county if— (I) the median household income of the county is not less than the Statewide nonmetropolitan medi£m household income; and (II) the median household income of each rural city, town, or township to be served, and of each separate contiguous rural area to be served, is less than the Statewide nonmetropolitan median household income; (iii) identified rural areas in a State in which the avergige per capita income is less than 70 percent of the nationwide per capita income; or (iv) any county where the net migration population loss is at least 5 percent or greater from April 1, 1980, to July 1, 1987, as reported by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce; and (E) provide a notification that an application has been filed with the Board to each county or other local unit of government having jurisdiction over some or all of the proposed service area under procedures developed by the Board. (7) FACTORS IN APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS. — In determining which applications to approve, and the maximum amount of funds to be offered in each line of credit, the Board shall grant a preference to eligible entities— (A) that have experience in serving local credit or equity needs and in making sound business and investment decisions, or that have the ability to serve such needs and make such decisions; (B) whose boards of directors (or governing bodies if no such board exists) are composed of a cross-section of individuals (such as individuals with backgrounds in business, community development, or regional development, individuals who are State, local, or county government of^cials, or

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