(a) To be eligible to be an Arkansas retirement community, an applicant community, acting through a board or panel that serves as the applicant community's official program sponsor, shall:

(1) Complete a retiree desirability assessment, as developed by the Arkansas Association of Development Organizations, to include facts regarding crime statistics, tax information, recreational opportunities, housing availability, and other appropriate factors, including criteria listed in subsection (b) of this section;

(2) Work to gain the support of churches, clubs, businesses, media, and other entities as necessary for the success of the Arkansas Retirement Community Program in the applicant community;

(3) Identify emergency medical services and hospitals within a seventy-five-mile radius of the community; and

(4) Submit to the association:

(A) An application fee in an amount equal to the greater of:

(i) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); or

(ii) Twenty-five cents (25cent(s)) multiplied by the population of the applicant community, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census;

(B) An annual renewal fee equal to the greater of:

(i) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); or

(ii) Twenty-five cents (25cent(s)) multiplied by the population of the applicant community, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census;

(C) A marketing plan detailing the mission as applied to the applicant community, the target market, the competition, an analysis of the applicant community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and dangers and the strategies the applicant community will employ to attain the goals of the program; and

(D) A long-term plan outlining the steps the applicant 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 required by subdivision (a)(1) of this section.

(b) The association shall develop and use a scoring system to determine whether an applicant community will qualify as an Arkansas retirement community. In addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, the association shall consider as part of the scoring system the applicant community in relation to the following criteria:

(1) Arkansas's state and local tax structure;

(2) Housing opportunities and cost;

(3) Climate;

(4) Personal safety;

(5) Working opportunities;

(6) Healthcare services and other services along the continuum of care, including home-based services and community-based services, housing for the elderly, assisted living, personal care, and nursing care facilities;

(7) Transportation;

(8) Continuing education;

(9) Leisure living;

(10) Recreation;

(11) Performing arts;

(12) Festivals and events;

(13) Sports at all levels; and

(14) Other services and facilities in the applicant community that are necessary to enable persons to age in the least restrictive environment, as may be identified by the Department of Human Services.

(c) The association shall initiate the program as a pilot program limited to up to ten (10) communities that apply for certification under this program.