(1)(a) The department shall create a master business index, using as an initial base the commercial regulation and registration program databases the department currently maintains. Each business entity shall be assigned a unique single business identifier for interagency use. The master business index shall serve as the state’s central index of business entities and shall reflect a listing of all licenses and registrations held by a business with any participating agency.
(b) Each participating agency, notwithstanding any other requirement of law, shall:
1. Provide updated information regarding the status of a business entity which the agency regulates or licenses and on which the agency maintains records.
2. Have the discretion to use the index as an alternative means of acquiring information about a business entity and, as necessary, use the information in the index to comply with the various requirements for registration, license issuance, renewal, or otherwise in the fulfillment of the agency’s statutory responsibilities.
3. Have the discretion to use the index in any instance as an authorized source for the creation or amendment of any official records.
(c) The department is authorized to create, in conjunction with the master business index, a directory of business activity which will facilitate the exchange of information on Florida’s business opportunities and further the international and domestic economic development efforts of this state.
(2) The department is authorized to take the actions it deems necessary to integrate all nonbusiness entity or commercial registrations it maintains into the master business index such that all registrations maintained for a business entity are reflected in the index in a consolidated manner.
(3) The department is authorized to enter into any formal agreement with federal, state, or local agencies to facilitate the registration of a business entity with that agency.
History.—s. 4, ch. 97-15; s. 2, ch. 99-218.