§ 9-15-34. Duties of the department

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.