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. The criteria for qualification as a small business may vary among industries to reflect their particular characteristics. 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. 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: 250 or fewer employees; or average annual gross receipts of $10,000,000 or less averaged over its most recently completed 3 fiscal years.