(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no person transacting business in this state, other than a licensee, shall use any name or title which indicates that it is a business and industrial development corporation or otherwise represent that it is a business and industrial development corporation or that it is a licensee.
(b) Any California corporation which proposes to apply for a license or which has applied for a license, may, before being issued a license, use a name or title which indicates that it is a business and industrial development corporation if it meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The corporation shall append to the name the designation “proposed,” “in organization,” or “in formation,” or any similar designation which the commissioner may approve. The designation shall be set forth at least as conspicuously as the name or title.
(2) The corporation may perform only such acts as may be necessary (A) to apply for and obtain such license and (B) otherwise to prepare to commence transacting business as a licensee.
(3) The corporation shall not represent that it is a licensee.