1. (a) By regulation, the Special Secretary for the Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs shall specify the criteria that a business must meet to qualify as a small business.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The criteria for qualification as a small business may vary among industries to reflect their particular characteristics.
   2. (2) Regulations adopted under this section shall include, for each class of business, the maximum number of employees a business may have to qualify as a small business.

3. (c) The regulations adopted under subsection (a) of this section shall require the qualification of a business as a small business for the exclusive purpose of pursuing out-of-state contracts, if the business has:

   1. (1) 250 or fewer employees; or
   2. (2) average annual gross receipts of $10,000,000 or less averaged over its most recently completed 3 fiscal years.

Added by Acts 1988, c. 48, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 1988. Amended by Acts 1988, c. 246, § 4, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1989, c. 5, § 9, eff. March 9, 1989; Acts 1997, c. 114, § 1, eff. July 1, 1997; Acts 2006, c. 255, § 1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2019, c. 315, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019; Acts 2019, c. 316, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019; Acts 2024, c. 653, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2024; Acts 2025, c. 601, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.