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.