Title 09, Commerce and Trade

§ 5601. Administration (a) The Commissioner shall administer this chapter. (b) It is unlawful for the Commissioner or an officer, employee, or designee of the Commissioner to use for personal benefit or the benefit of others records or other information obtained by or filed with …

§ 5602. Investigations and subpoenas (a) The Commissioner may: (1) conduct public or private investigations within or outside this State that the Commissioner considers necessary or appropriate to determine whether a person has violated, is violating, or is about to violate this …

§ 5603. Civil enforcement (a) If the Commissioner believes that a person has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in an act, practice, or course of business constituting a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter or that a person has, …

§ 5604. Administrative enforcement (a) If the Commissioner determines that a person has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in an act, practice, or course of business constituting a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter or that a p…

§ 5605. Rules, forms, orders, interpretative opinions, and hearings (a) The Commissioner may: (1) issue forms and orders and, after notice and comment and in accordance with the provisions of 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 (Administrative Procedure Act), may adopt and amend rules necessary …

§ 5606. Administrative files and opinions (a) The Commissioner shall maintain, or designate a person to maintain, a register of applications for registration of securities; registration statements; notice filings; applications for registration of broker-dealers, agents, investmen…

§ 5607. Public records; confidentiality (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, records obtained by the Commissioner or filed under this chapter, including a record contained in or filed with a registration statement, application, notice filing, or rep…

§ 5608. Uniformity and cooperation with other agencies (a) The Commissioner shall, in his or her discretion, cooperate, coordinate, consult, and, subject to section 5607 of this chapter, share records and information with the securities regulator of another state, Canada, a Canad…

§ 5609. Judicial review Any person aggrieved and directly affected by a final order issued by the Commissioner under this chapter may appeal to the Superior Court of Washington County. The appeal shall be heard by the court de novo. The filing of an appeal shall not stay enforcem…

§ 5610. Jurisdiction (a) Sections 5301 and 5302, subsections 5401(a), 5402(a), 5403(a), and 5404(a) and sections 5501, 5506, 5509, and 5510 of this chapter do not apply to a person that sells or offers to sell a security unless the offer to sell or the sale is made in this State …

§ 5611. Service of process (a) A consent to service of process complying with this section required by this chapter must be signed and filed in the form required by a rule or order under this chapter. A consent appointing the Commissioner the person’s agent for service of process…

§ 5612. Severability clause If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, a…

§ 5613. Collection and disposition of fees (a) The fees provided for in this chapter shall be collected by the Commissioner and covered into the State Treasury except as provided in subsections (b) and (e) of this section. (b) There is hereby created a fund to be known as the Sec…

§ 5614. Recovery of expenses (a) Whenever it is necessary for the Commissioner to incur any expense in connection with any application, notification, registration, license, investigation, or administrative proceeding, the Commissioner may require that any person who is the subjec…

§ 5616. Vermont Financial Services Education And Victim Restitution Special Fund (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide: (1) funds for the purposes specified in subsection 5601(d) of this title; (2) restitution assistance to victims of securities violations who: (…

§ 5617. Vermont Whistleblower Award and Protection Act (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide: (1) protection from retaliation for whistleblowers and internal reporters who comply with the requirements in this section; and (2) monetary awards to whistleblowers who…

§ 6055. Unconscionable terms in standard-form contracts prohibited (a) Unconscionable terms. There is a rebuttable presumption that the following contractual terms are substantively unconscionable when included in a standard-form contract to which only one of the parties to the c…