Commissioner of Economic and Community Development required to give priority for financial assistance to certain applicants

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Dislocated worker” has the same meaning as provided in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, P.L. 113-128, as amended from time to time; (2) “Economic development financial assistance” means any grant, loan or loan guarantee, or combination thereof, provided to a business for the purpose of economic development; (3) “Low-income individual” means an individual whose family income is less than three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level for the prior calendar year; (4) “Minority” means an individual whose race is defined as other than white, or whose ethnicity is defined as Hispanic or Latino by the federal Office of Management and Budget for use by the Bureau of Census of the United States Department of Commerce; (5) “Nontraditional employment” means occupations or fields of work for which individuals from one gender comprise less than twenty-five per cent of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work; and (6) “Veteran” means any person who is a member of, was honorably discharged from or released under honorable conditions from active service in the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103. (b) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall give priority to applicants for economic development financial assistance who demonstrate a willingness, as determined by the commissioner, to make jobs available to unemployed individuals, low-income individuals, dislocated workers, individuals training for nontraditional employment, veterans, minorities, women and individuals with disabilities to the extent consistent with any state or regional economic development strategy.