Securities: qualification: exemptions.

Existing law, the Corporate Securities Law of 1968, requires the offer and sale of securities in the state to be qualified with the Commissioner of Business Oversight, unless exempt. That law exempts specific securities or transactions from qualification, including, among others, any shares or memberships issued by a consumer cooperative corporation, provided the aggregate investment of any shareholder or member does not exceed $300. This bill would increase the aggregate investment amount for the exemption for qualification of shares or memberships in a consumer cooperative corporation from $300 to $1,000. The bill would exempt from qualification the offer or sale of any security in a transaction that meets specified requirements that include, among others, that the aggregate amount sold to all investors within 12 months does not exceed $500,000, or a percentage of the amounts raised by the offering be allocated to acquiring either an interest in real property used for agricultural purposes or to purchase solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, or other necessary equipment. The bill would authorize the commissioner to by rule require specified issuers to file a notice of transaction, and if the issuer fails to file that notice, to pay a specified fee to the commissioner. The bill would change references throughout these provisions from husband and wife to spouses, generally.