RFA-2 Review Procedures

(1) Upon a determination that an RFA-2 application is administratively complete, the commission will determine the surrounding communities pursuant to 205 CMR 125.00: Surrounding Communities, determine the impacted live entertainment venues pursuant to 205 CMR 126.00: Impacted Live Entertainment Venues, and review the merits of the application. In doing so, the commission may, at such times and in such order as the commission deems appropriate, take some or all of the following actions: (a) Hold one or more open meetings concerning the application; (b) Refer the RFA-2 application, or any parts thereof, for advice and recommendations, to any or all of the following: 1. The executive director; 2. The bureau; 3. Any office, agency, board, council, commission, authority, department, instrument­ ality or division of the commonwealth; 4. Any office, agency, board, council, commission, authority, department, instrument­ ality or division of the host community or any potential surrounding community; 5. Any consultant retained in accordance with 205 CMR 118.04(1)(c); 6. Commission staff. (c) Retain, or authorize the executive director or the deputy director to retain, at the applicant's expense, such professional consultants (including without limitation financial and accounting experts, architects, engineers, environmental professionals, legal experts, gaming experts, contractor investigators, and other qualified professionals) as the commission in its discretion deems necessary and appropriate to review the application and make recommendations; (d) Receive independent evaluations of the application; (e) Require or permit presentations by the applicant and its representatives; (f) Require or permit the applicant to provide additional information and documents pursuant to 205 CMR 112.00: Required Information and Applicant Cooperation; 118.04: continued (g) Require or permit the executive director, with the assistance of commission's agents and employees, to negotiate with the applicant and its agents and employees concerning potential improvements to the applicant's proposed gaming establishment, its mitigation plans, and its proposals to ensure economic and other benefits to the region and to the commonwealth; (h) Require or permit the applicant to supplement or amend its application as the commission determines to be in the best interests of the host community, one or more surrounding communities or impacted live entertainment venues, the region or the commonwealth; (i) On a regional basis for Category 1 applicants or on a state-wide basis for Category 2 applicants: 1. screen out and deny one or more applications; and 2. identify finalists for further consideration; (j) In the commission's discretion, request best and final offers by finalists; (2) The commission shall retain the discretion to take or not to take any actions under 205 CMR 118.04(1) as it deems appropriate with respect to an RFA-2 application; and the fact that the commission has or has not taken any such action with respect to one or more RFA-2 applications shall not obligate the commission to do so or not to do so with respect to any other RFA-2 application or applications.