(a) A regional corporation shall not provide any financial assistance authorized by this Part unless the following conditions are met:

1. (1) the applicant for assistance is an eligible business, and the project it seeks to undertake is an eligible project;

2. (2) the applicant has demonstrated that there is little prospect of obtaining the project financing requested from other public sources of funding within the service delivery region, including local revolving loan funds, and that there is little prospect of obtaining adequate project financing from private sources of capital, or in the case of a loan guarantee, that there is little prospect of obtaining project financing without the loan guarantee. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph, a regional corporation may provide assistance for an eligible project in conjunction with financial assistance from a local revolving loan fund, provided that:

   1. (i) assistance from the regional corporation is no greater than that provided by the local revolving loan fund; and
   2. (ii) the financial assistance requested from the regional corporation has been requested from the local revolving loan fund, and rejected due to the unavailability of funds;
3. (3) the applicant has a minimum equity interest of at least 10 percent in the business or the project;
4. (4) there is a reasonable prospect of repayment;
5. (5) the project is located in the service delivery region served by the regional corporation;
6. (6) the project will comply with any applicable environmental rules or regulations;
7. (7) the applicant has certified that it will not discriminate against any employee or any applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, national origin, sex or age;
8. (8) a staff member or a representative of the regional corporation acting in an official capacity has personally visited the project site and/or the applicant's place of business;
9. (9) financial commitments for the project have been obtained from other public and private sources;
10. (10) the project demonstrates a substantial likelihood of providing increases in net new permanent jobs or retaining jobs in businesses that need such financial assistance to remain viable; and
11. (11) the applicant has agreed to first consider persons eligible to participate in Job Training Partnership Act (29 USC 1501 et seq.) programs. Such persons shall be referred to the applicant by administrative entities of service delivery areas created pursuant to such act or by the Job Service Division of the State Department of Labor.

(b) A regional corporation, in approving applications for financial assistance, shall give priority to eligible projects:

1. (1) that will provide increases in net new permanent jobs. In reviewing applications for retail projects, the regional corporation shall consider whether the project is likely to have a significant impact upon the economic condition of the community in which it is located;
2. (2) that are located in areas of economic distress or employing persons who live in such areas;
3. (3) of minority or women-owned business enterprises or enterprises owned by dislocated workers, as defined in the Job Training Partnership Act (29 USC 1501 et seq.); and
4. (4) of businesses in the early stages of development that have been denied access to credit.