A. The economic development department shall establish the office of enterprise development. Within the office of enterprise development, the department shall:
(1) develop and maintain a comprehensive statewide business information data base and referral service;
(2) establish a mechanism for advertising the existence of the office and its referral service;
(3) provide professional assistance and information regarding licensing, permitting and taxation procedures; and
(4) establish a reporting procedure to monitor the success of the referral service.
B. The department shall develop a budget and hire a staff to operate the office of enterprise development.