§746.  Office of GeauxBiz

A.  There shall be within the commercial division of the Department of State the office of GeauxBiz, which shall have the responsibility of developing, implementing, managing, and operating, in concert with other departments of state government, a system of:

(1)  Obtaining information for members of the business community and persons seeking to establish a business regarding all forms of authorization required by any department of state government to begin or continue a business in the state.

(2)  Assisting applicants in the following:

(a)  Clarification of licensing requirements and standards.

(b)  Preparation of applications and forms.

(c)  Determination of the status of an application during the review process, including the resolution of disputes.

(d)  Generally coordinating the various aspects of the licensing review process.

B.  There shall be a deputy secretary for the office of GeauxBiz of the department who shall be appointed by the secretary with the consent of the Senate.  The deputy secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary at a salary fixed by the secretary, which salary shall not exceed the amount approved for that position by the legislature.  The deputy secretary shall be directly responsible to and shall perform his functions under the immediate supervision and control of the secretary.

C.  The deputy secretary shall direct and be responsible for the functions and management of the office of GeauxBiz within the department.  In such capacity he shall be responsible for all program budgeting and shall act as liaison with secretaries, assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries, and other officers and employees of the other departments of state government and members of the business community seeking and using the functions of the office of GeauxBiz.  He shall establish educational and informational services for consumers of the functions of the office and shall provide for procurement, management, program analysis, and data processing, and shall perform any additional duties assigned by the secretary.

D.  The deputy secretary shall employ, appoint, remove, assign, and promote such personnel as is necessary for the efficient administration of the office of GeauxBiz and its programs and the performance of its powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities in accordance with applicable civil service law and all budgetary control and applicable laws.

Acts 1991, No. 1053, §1, eff. July 29, 1991; Acts 2008, No. 127, §1.

NOTE:  SEE ACTS 1991, NO. 1053, §4.