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ment of the plan upon which it proposes to transact business, a copy of any security it proposes to issue, a copy of any contract it proposes to make concerning the same, a copy of any prospectus or advertisement, or other description of such securities, then prepared by or for it for distribution or publication, and such additional information concerning the company, its condition and affairs as the commissioner may require. If the applicant is a partnership or an unincorporated association or joint stock company, it shall file with its application a copy of its articles of partnership or association, and all other papers pertaining to its organization. If the applicant is a trustee, it shall file with its application a copy of all instruments by which the trust is created and in which it is accepted, acknowledged, or declared. If the applicant is a corporation, it shall file with its application a copy of all minutes of any proceedings of its directors or stockholders or members relating to or affecting the issue of such securities, and also a copy of its articles of incorporation and of its by-laws and of any amendments thereto. If the applicant is a corporation or association organized under the laws of any other state, territory, or government, it shall also file with its application a certificate, executed by the proper officer of such state, territory, or government not more than thirty days before the filing of such application, showing that such applicant is authorized to transact business in such state, territory, or government; and also, in such form as the commissioner may prescribe, its written instrument, irrevocably appointing the commissioner and his successor in office its true and lawful attorney upon whom all process in any action or proceeding against it may be served, with the same effect as if said corporation or association were organized or created under the laws of this state and had been lawfully served with process therein.

Examination of application.

SEC. 4. Upon the filing of such application, it shall be the duty of the commissioner to examine it and the other papers and documents filed therewith, and he may, if he deems it advisable, make or have made a detailed examination, audit, and investigation of the applicant and its affairs. If he finds that the proposed plan of business of the applicant is not unfair, unjust, or inequitable, that it intends to fairly and honestly transact its business, and that the securities that it proposes to issue and the methods to be used by it in issuing or disposing of them are not such as, in his opinion, will work a fraud upon the purchaser thereof, the commissioner shall issue to the applicant a permit authorizing it to issue and dispose of securities, as therein provided, in this state, in such amounts and for such considerations and upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner may in said permit provide. Otherwise, he shall deny the application and refuse such permit and notify the applicant in writing of his decision. Every permit shall recite in bold type that the issuance thereof is permissive only and does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of the securities permitted to be issued. The commissioner may impose such conditions as he may deem necessary to the issue of such securities, and shall have the power to establish such rules and regulations as may be reasonable or necessary to insure the disposition of the proceeds of such securities in the manner and for the purposes provided in such permit, and may, from time to time for cause, amend, alter, or revoke any permit issued by him, or temporarily suspend the rights of the applicant under such permit.

Certificate of agent or broker.

SEC. 5. No person or company shall act as an agent or broker until such person or company shall have first applied for and secured from the commissioner a certificate, then in effect, authorizing such person or company so to do. Every such certificate shall expire on the thirty-first day of December next after its issuance, unless sooner revoked. To secure such certificate, the applicant shall make and file in the office of the commissioner an application therefor in writing, verified by or in behalf of the applicant. In such application, the applicant shall set forth, in addition to such other information as may be required by the commissioner:

1. The name and address of the applicant, and, if it be a corporation, association, or joint stock company, the name and address of each of its managing officers and agents, and, if it be a partnership, the name and address of each of the partners; 2. A succinct statement of facts showing that the applicant, and its managing officers and agents, if it be a corporation, or members, if it be a partnership, have a good business reputation;

3. If the applicant is a broker, the general plan and character of the business of the applicant.

Fee.

For filing such application, the applicant shall pay a fee as hereinafter provided. If the applicant is a corporation or association organized under the laws of any other state, territory, or government, it shall file with its application a copy of its articles of incorporation or association, together with a certificate executed by the proper officer of such state, territory, or government not more than thirty days before the filing of such application, showing that such applicant is authorized to transact business in such state, territory, or government, and also, in such form as the commissioner may prescribe, its written instrument, irrevocably appointing the commissioner and his successor in office its true and lawful attorney upon whom all process in any action or proceeding against it, arising out of or founded upon the actual fraud of such applicant in the sale of securities within this state, may be served, with the same effect as if said corporation or association were organized or created under the laws of this state and had been lawfully served with process therein.

Certificate issued.

SEC. 6. The commissioner shall examine such application, and shall make such 'further investigation of the applicant and its affairs as he shall deem advisable. If, 'from such examination, the commissioner shall be satisfied of the good business reputation of the applicant and of its officers or members, if any, he shall issue such certificate. Otherwise, he shall refuse the same and deny the application and notify the applicant of his decision. The commissioner may at any time revoke any broker's or agent's certificate issued by him if he shall find that the holder thereof is of bad business repute, or has violated any provision of this act, or has engaged, or is about to engage in any fraudulent transaction.

'Permit to sell security.

SEC. 7. No person, partnership, association, or corporation, other than a broker holding a broker's certificate, then in effect, shall issue, circulate, or publish any advertisement, pamphlet, prospectus, or circular concerning any security, to be issued by any company, that such person, partnership, association, or corporation desires or proposes to sell, until the company proposing to issue such security shall have first secured from the commissioner a permit authorizing it to issue or sell such security; nor shall any company, broker, or agent, or any other person, issue, circulate, or publish any advertisement, pamphlet, prospectus, or circular concerning any security sold or offered for sale by it, unless the name of the company, broker, agent, or person issuing, circulating, or publishing the same shall be subscribed thereto, and a true copy thereof shall have been first filed in the office of the com. missioner, or deposited in a United State post office, properly enclosed in a sealed envelope, addressed to the commissioner at Sacramento, California, with the postage duly prepaid thereon; nor shall any company, broker, or agent, or any other person, issue, circulate, or publish any such advertisement, pamphlet, prospectus, or circular after notice in writing given to it by the commissioner that, in his opinion, the same contains any statement that is false or misleading or otherwise likely to deceive a reader thereof.

Report by company on sale of securities.

SEC. 8. Every company authorized by the commissioner to sell securities shall thereafter, at such times as it may be required by the commissioner, make and file in the office of the commissioner a report, setting forth, in such form as commissioner may prescribe, the securities sold by it under the authority of any permit issued by him, the proceeds derived therefrom, the disposition of such proceeds, and such other information concerning its property, officers, or affairs, relating to or affecting the value of such securities, as the commissioner may require.

Statement by broker on sale of securities.

SEC. 9. Every broker shall, at such times as it may be required by the commissioner, make and file in the office of the commissioner a true and correct statement concerning any security sold or offered for sale by such broker, showing the name and location of the principal office of the issuer of such security; the names of its managing officers, if it is a corporation, or of its members, if it is a partnership; its assets, liabilities, and issued capital stock, at the close of its fiscal year then last ended, or at a later date; its gross income, expenses, and fixed charges for the year next preceding such date, or for such time as such issuer of such security has transacted business, if for less than one year, and the approximate price at which

such broker has sold or proposes to sell such security, together with such other information, of which the broker may have knowledge, as the commissioner may require.

Papers open to public inspection.

SEC. 10. All papers, documents, reports, and other instruments in writing filed with the commissioner under this act shall be open to public inspection; provided, that if, in his judgment, the public welfare or the welfare of any company, broker, or agent demands that any portion of such information be not made public, he may, in his discretion, withhold such information from public inspection for such time as in his judgment is necessary. The commissioner may at any time give, issue, or make public any information concerning any company or any contracts, stocks, bonds, or other securities sold or offered for sale within this state, if in his judgment the giving, issuing, or publishing of the same will be of public interest or advantage or will tend to prevent the fraudulent sale of such securities.

Review of orders, etc., of commissioner.

SEC. 11. Every order, decision, permit or other official act of the commissioner shall be subject to review, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter I of Title I of Part III of the Code of Civil Procedure; and any party aggrieved by any such order, decision, or permit of the commissioner may appeal therefrom to the superior court of the county of Sacramento, by serving upon the commissioner a notice of such appeal, a demand in writing for a certified transcript of all the papers on file in his office affecting or relating to such decision, and the payment of the fee therefor, within sixty days after the making of any such order, permit, or decision. Thereupon, the commissioner shall, within ten days, make and certify such transcript, and the appellant shall, within five days thereafter, file the same and the notice of appeal with the clerk of said court. Upon the hearing of such appeal, the burden of proof shall lie upon the appellant, and the court shall receive and consider any pertinent evidence, whether oral or documentary, concerning the action of the commissioner from which the appeal is taken, but shall be limited to a consideration and determination of the question whether there has been an abuse of discretion on the part of the commissioner in making such order, decision, or permit.

Securities void.

SEC. 12. Every security issued by any company, without a permit of the commissioner authorizing the same then in effect, shall be void, and every security issued by any company, with the authorization of the commissioner but not conforming in its provisions to the provisions, if any, which it is required by the permit of the commissioner to contain, shall be void.

Penalty for company violating act.

SEC. 13. Every company which shall directly or indirectly issue or cause to be issued any security contrary to the provisions of this act, or of the constitution of this state, or in nonconformity with a permit of the commissioner authorizing the same, or which applies the proceeds from the sale thereof, or any part thereof, to any purpose other than the purpose or purposes, if any, specified in such permit, or to any purpose specified in such permit in excess of any amount limited in such permit to be used for such purpose, shall be guilty of a public offense and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars.

Penalty for officers, etc.

SEC. 14. Every officer, agent, or employee of any company, and every other person, who knowingly authorizes, directs, or aids in the issue or sale of, or issues or executes, or sells, or causes or assists in causing to be issued, executed, or sold, any security, in nonconformity with a permit of the commissioner then in effect authorizing such issue, or contrary to the provisions of this act, or of the constitution of this state, or who, in any application to the commissioner, or in any proceeding before him, or in any examination, audit, or investigation made by him or his authority, knowingly makes any false statement or representation, or who, with knowledge of its falsity, files or causes to be filed in the office of the commissioner any false statement or representation concerning such company or the property which it then holds or proposes to acquire, or concerning its officers or its financial condition or other affairs, or concerning its proposed plan of business, or who, with knowledge of the falsity of any such statement or representation, issues, executes, or sells, or causes to be issued, executed, or sold, any security, without first informing the commissioner of the falsity of such statement in writing, or who, directly or indirectly,

knowingly applies, or causes or assists in causing to be applied, the proceeds, or any part thereof, from the sale of any security to any purpose contrary to the provisions of the permit authorizing the issue of such security, or to any purpose specified in such permit in excess of any amount limited in such permit to be used for such purpose, or who, with knowledge that any security has been issued or executed in violation of any of the provisions of this act, sells or offers the same for sale, or who, with knowledge that any advertisement, pamphlet, prospectus, or circular concerning any security contains any statement that is false or misleading, or otherwise likely to deceive a reader thereof, issues, circulates, or publishes the same, or shall cause the same to be issued, circulated, or published, or who, in any other respect, wilfully violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this act, or who, in any other respect, wilfully violates or fails, or neglects to obey, observe, or comply with any order, permit, decision, demand, or requirement, or any part or provision thereof, of the commissioner under the provisions of this act, is guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding five years, or in a county jail not exceeding two years, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

State corporation department created.

SEC. 15. There is hereby created a state corporation department. The chief officer of such department shall be the commissioner of corporations. He shall be appointed by the governor and hold office at the pleasure of the governor. He shall receive an annual salary of five thousand dollars, to be paid monthly out of the state treasury upon a warrant of the controller. He shall within fifteen days from the time of notice of his appointment take and subscribe to the constitutional oath of office and file the same in the office of the secretary of state and execute to the people of the state a bond in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars with corporate security or two or more sureties, to be approved by the governor of the state, for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office.

Clerks and deputies. Duty of attorney general.

SEC. 16. The commissioner shall employ such clerks and deputies as he may need to discharge in proper manner the duties imposed upon him by law. The attorney general shall render to the commissioner opinions upon all questions of law, relating to the construction or interpretation of this act or arising in the administration thereof, that may submitted to him by the commissioner, and shall act as the attorney for the commissioner in all actions and proceedings brought by or against him under or pursuant to any of the provisions of this act. Neither the commissioner nor any of his clerks or deputies shall be interested in any company which shall have applied for or secured a permit to sell securities, or in any broker, or agent as a director, stockholder, officer, member, agent, or employee. Such clerks and deputies shall perform such duties as the commissioner shall assign to them. He shall fix the compensation of such clerks and deputies, which compensation shall be paid monthly, on the certificate of the commissioner and on the warrant of the controller, out of the state treasury. Each deputy shall, within fifteen days after his appointment, take and subscribe to the constitutional oath of office, and file the same in the office of the secretary of state.

Powers of commissioner.

SEC. 17. The commissioner shall at all times have the power to administer oaths and to make an examination or investigation of the books, records, accounts, and other papers, and of the business of any company, broker, or agent permitted or authorized by him to sell securities, to make dividends, to create debts, to divide, withdraw, or pay to the stockholders, or any of them, any part of its capital stock, or to increase or reduce its capital stock. In any examination, audit, or investigation made or hearing conducted by him, he shall have the power to take the testimony of any witness and to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance upon such examination, audit, investigation, or hearing in any part of the state of witnesses and the production of books, documents, and other things under their control, and in any such case to take or cause to be taken the deposition of any witness residing within or without this state. All of the provisions of Chapter II of Title III of Part IV of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to the means of production of evidence out of court, shall be applicable to any examination, investigation, or hearing under this act. No. person shall be excused from testifying or from producing any book, document, or other thing under his control upon any such examination, audit, investigation, or hearing upon the ground that his testimony, or the

book, document, or other thing required of him, may tend to incriminate him, or may have a tendency to subject him to punishment for a felony, or to a penalty or forfeiture; but no person shall be prosecuted, punished, or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any act, transaction, matter, or thing concerning which he shall have been so compelled to testify under oath, or to produce documentary or other evidence; provided, that no person so testifying shall be exempt from prosecution or punishment for perjury if committed by him in his testimony. The authority to make or conduct any such examination, audit, investigation, or hearing, including the authority to adminster oaths, and to subpoena witnesses and take their testimony, may be delegated by the commissioner to any deputy or examiner appointed by him for that purpose. Such appointment shall be made by an instrument in writing, signed by the commissioner under his official seal, and upon such examination, audit, investigation, or hearing, the same shall be produced by such deputy or examiner at any time upon demand therefor.

Service of process.

SEC. 18. In any action or proceeding commenced or prosecuted in this state against any corporation or association which shall have appointed the commissioner its attorney, as provided in section three of this act, and in any action or proceeding commenced or prosecuted in this state, arising out of or founded upon the actual fraud of any corporation or association which shall have appointed the commissioner its attorney, as provided in section five of this act, service of process may be made upon the commission. In any such case, the commissioner shall forthwith forwardby mail, postage prepaid, to the person designated by such corporation or association by an instrument in writing duly executed by it and filed with the commissioner, at the address stated in such instrument, or, if no such designation has been made, to the secretary of such corporation or association at its last known post-office address, a copy of such process; whereupon, and upon the payment of the fee herein provided for, service of such process upon such company shall be deemed to be complete and to be personal service upon such corporation or association, with the same effect as if said corporation or association were organized or incorporated under the laws of this state and had been lawfully served with process therein. The certificate of the commissioner, under his official seal, of such service, shall be competent and sufficient proof thereof.

Officers.

SEC. 19. The commissioner shall have his principal office in the city of Sacramento, and may establish branch offices in the city and county of San Francisco and in the city of Los Angeles, and he shall from time to time obtain the necessary furniture, stationery, fuel, light, and other proper conveniences for the transaction of business of the department; the expenses of which shall be paid out of the state treasury on the certificate of the commissioner and the warrant of the controller.

Fees.

SEC. 20. The commissioner shall charge and collect the following fees:

1. For filing any application for a permit to issue securities, ten dollars, plusOne twentieth of one per cent of the amount of any excess of the aggregate value of the securities sought to be issued over twenty thousand dollars and not exceeding fifty thousand dollars;

One twenty-fifth of one per cent of such amount in excess of fifty thousand dollars and not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars;

One fiftieth of one per cent of such amount in excess of one hundred thousand dollars and not exceeding five hundred thousand dollars; and

One one-hundredth of one per cent of such amount in excess of five hundred thousand dollars.

The value of such securities shall be deemed to be their par or face value, if they have a par or face value; otherwise, the price at which the company proposes to sell or issue the same, or the value, as alleged in the application, of the consideration (if other than money) to be received in exchange therefor.

2. For filing any application for a permit or other authority to make dividends. create debts, or to divide, withdraw, increase, reduce or pay to the stockholders, or any of them, the capital stock, or any part thereof, the same amount that would otherwise be chargeable or collectible if such application were for a permit to issue securities; provided, that in any such case the value shall be determined by the amount of dividends made, debts created, or capital stock divided, withdrawn, increased, reduced, or paid.

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