(a) The Urban Weatherization Initiative is created. The Initiative shall be administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in consultation with other appropriate State agencies and overseen by the Weatherization Initiative Board.
     (b) The purpose of the Urban Weatherization Initiative is to promote the State’s interest in reducing the impact of high energy costs on low-income households. The Initiative seeks to increase employment and entrepreneurship opportunities through the installation and manufacturing of low-cost weatherization materials. In particular, the Initiative is intended to weatherize owner-occupied, single family homes and multi-family (6 units or fewer) housing in census tracts with high rates of unemployment, underemployment, and poverty and to ensure that residents of those communities are able to access the work as a local employment engine. The Initiative also seeks to implement outreach strategies to increase awareness of cost savings and job training services associated with the program.