(a) The commission, with the assistance of the department, shall commence its review of an application for a grant within 30 days of receipt of the application.

(b) The application shall either be approved or denied by the commission within 180 days of its receipt, except that, if the commission requests additional information from the applicant, the time for approving or denying the application shall be calculated from the date that the commission receives the additional information requested.

(c) If the commission denies an application, it shall state the specific reasons for that denial and may, in its discretion, permit the application to be amended to remove those grounds for denial. The commission shall have 180 days from the receipt of an amended application to either approve or deny the amended application.

(d) The commission shall not deny any application which meets the requirements of this part and which conforms to the regulations and guidelines of the commission for the award of grants, nor shall the commission unreasonably delay the approval of an application which substantially conforms to those requirements if the applicant agrees to allow the commission to modify the application to meet its conditions for approval.

(Added June 5, 1990, by initiative Proposition 116.)