Definitions.

As used in this act:

(1) “Business entity” means any form of corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, joint venture, business trust, or sole proprietorship that conducts business in this state.

(2) “Department” means the Department of State.

(3) “Master business index” means that database maintained by the department which indexes all business entity records maintained by any state government agency.

(4) “Participating agency” means an agency of government which elects to participate in the exchange of information through the master business index.

(5) “Single business identifier” means the unique record number assigned to a business entity by the department in compliance with the provisions of this act.

(6) “State agency” means any state government agency, department, or commission which has jurisdiction over business entities.

(7) “Uniform business report” means an information gathering document distributed by the department to collect or update current data for the master business index.