(A) The seller of every business opportunity shall file with the Secretary of State a copy of the disclosure statement required by Section 39-57-30 before placing an advertisement or making other representations to prospective purchasers in this State and shall update this filing as a material change in the required information occurs, but no less than biennially. If the seller is required by Section 39-57-40 to provide a bond or establish a trust account, he contemporaneously shall file with the Secretary of State a copy of the bond or a copy of the formal notification by the depository that the trust account is established. The Secretary of State shall charge a nonrefundable filing fee of one hundred dollars for processing and maintaining the information filed by the seller.

(B) The Secretary of State shall maintain a record of all sellers registering under this chapter and shall assign a registration number to each. The seller must be advised in writing of the assigned registration number, and advertisements, pamphlets, or brochures used in the promotion of the business opportunity by the seller must include the assigned registration number in the following manner: "S.S. Reg. No. __________."

(C) A person who fails to file is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days. Each day a person fails to file constitutes a separate offense.

HISTORY: 1980 Act No. 474, Section 5; 1988 Act No. 604, Section 2, eff June 1, 1988; 1992 Act No. 501, Part II Section 9E, eff July 1, 1992.

Effect of Amendment

The 1988 amendment made grammatical changes and in subsection (a) added the last sentence relating to a nonrefundable filing fee.

The 1992 amendment changed the filing period from annual to biennial and changed the filing fee from $50 to $100.