(a) Neither the commissioner nor any of the commissioner’s assistants, clerks, or deputies shall be interested as a director, officer, shareholder, member (other than a member of an organization formed for religious purposes), partner, agent, or employee of any person who, during the period of the official’s or employee’s association with the Department of Business Oversight, (1) was licensed or applied for license as a broker-dealer or investment adviser under this division, or (2) applied for or secured the qualification of the sale of securities under this division.

(b) Nothing contained in subdivision (a) shall prohibit the holding or purchasing of any securities by any assistant, clerk, or deputy in accordance with rules as the commissioner shall adopt for the purpose of protecting the public interest and avoiding conflicts of interest.

(c) Nothing contained in subdivision (a) shall prohibit the holding or purchasing of any securities by the commissioner if any of the following criteria is met:

(1) The securities held or purchased by the commissioner are exempt from the qualification requirements of Sections 25110, 25120, and 25130 by virtue of Section 25100, provided that the holding or purchasing of those securities is in accordance with rules adopted for the purpose of protecting the public interest and avoiding conflicts of interest.

(2) The securities held or purchased by the commissioner are not subject to Sections 25110, 25120, and 25130 by virtue of Section 25100.1, provided that the holding or purchasing of those securities is in accordance with rules adopted for the purpose of protecting the public interest and avoiding conflicts of interest.

(3) The holding or purchasing of any securities by the commissioner meets each of the following requirements:

(A) The securities are held or purchased through a management account or trust administered by a bank or trust company authorized to do business in this state, and the bank or trust company has sole investment discretion regarding the holding, purchase, and sale of securities.

(B) The commissioner did not, directly or indirectly, advise, counsel, command, or suggest the holding, purchase, or sale of any security or furnish any information relating to the security to the bank or trust company.

(C) The account or trust does not at any time have more than 10 percent of its total assets invested in the securities of any one issuer or hold more than 5 percent of the outstanding shares or units of any class of securities of any one issuer.

(D) The commissioner shall report to the Attorney General not less often than quarterly all holdings, purchases, and sales of securities by him or her as authorized in paragraph (3), which reports shall be retained by the Attorney General as public documents.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 190, Sec. 21. (AB 1517) Effective January 1, 2016.)