Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §1043, sub-§2, ¶J, as amended by PL 1999, c. 484, §6, is further amended to read:

J. In the case of major business expansion projects, the applicant is creditworthy and there is a strong likelihood that the revenue obligation securities will be repaid through the revenues of the project and any other sources of revenues and collateral pledged to the repayment of those securities. In order to make this determination, the authority shall consider such factors as it considers necessary to measure and evaluate the sufficiency of the pledged revenues to repay the obligations, including:

(1) Whether individuals or entities obligated to repay the obligations have demonstrated sufficient revenues from the project or from other sources to repay the obligations, and a strong probability that those revenues will continue to be available for the term of the revenue obligation securities;

(2) Whether the applicant demonstrates a strong probability that the project will continue to operate and provide the public benefits projected to be created for the term of the revenue obligation securities;

(3) Whether the applicant demonstrates that the benefits projected to be created by the project are enhanced through the use of financing assistance from the authority;

(4) Whether the applicant's creditworthiness is demonstrated by such factors as historical financial performance, management ability, its plan for marketing its product or service and its ability to access conventional financing;

(5) Whether the applicant meets or exceeds industry average financial performance ratios commonly accepted in determining creditworthiness in that industry;

(6) Whether the applicant demonstrates that the need for authority assistance is due to the reduced cost and increased flexibility of the financing for the project that result from authority assistance and not from an