In the last legislative biennium, the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar sponsored a bill, AB 713 (Wagner), to clarify the status of finders under the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968.  Despite a lot of hard work on the part of the committee and the fact that the bill attracted virtually no opposition, the bill died last August. 

The demise of AB 713 doesn’t mean that Member Donald P. Wagner has abandoned the idea. Earlier this week, he introduced a new bill, AB 667, that would similarly amend the definition of “broker-dealer” in Corporations Code Section 25004 to exclude finders.  The exception would be available only for natural persons and quite narrow.  Persons would also be required to make a filing with the Department of Business Oversight.