Colorado § 5-19-110 - Powers of administrator of the uniform consumer credit code and district attorney - subpoenas - hearings - notification - cease-and-desist orders - definitions.

§ 5-19-110. Powers of administrator of the uniform consumer credit code and district attorney - subpoenas - hearings - notification - cease-and-desist orders - definitions.

(1) When the administrator of the uniform consumer credit code or district attorney has cause to believe that any person, whether located in this state or elsewhere, has violated or is violating any provision of this part 1, the administrator or district attorney may, in addition to the other powers conferred upon the administrator or district attorney by this part 1:

(a) Request the person to file a statement or report in writing under oath or otherwise, on forms prescribed by him or her, as to all facts and circumstances concerning the sale or advertisement of goods, property, or services by any credit services organization and any other data and information he or she deems necessary;

(b) Prior to the filing of a complaint, issue subpoenas to require the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents; conduct hearings in aid of any investigation or inquiry; administer oaths; examine under oath any person in connection with the sale or advertisement of goods, property, or services by any credit services organization; and apply to the appropriate court for an appropriate order to effect the purposes of this article 19.

(2) Service of any notice or subpoena may be made in the manner prescribed by law or under the Colorado rules of civil procedure.

(3) (a) Credit services organizations shall file a notification with, and pay the fee prescribed in subsection (4) of this section to, the administrator within thirty days after commencing business in this state and, thereafter, on or before July 1 of each year. The notification must state:

(I) The name of the credit services organization;

(II) The name in which business is transacted, if the name is different from the name provided pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(I) of this section;

(III) The address of the credit services organization's principal office, which may be outside of this state; and

(IV) Other information the administrator may require.

(b) If information in a notification becomes inaccurate after filing, no further notification is required until the following year's notification filing is due.

(4) A person required to file the notification described in subsection (3) of this section shall pay to the administrator a nonrefundable annual notification fee. The administrator may examine the transactions, business, and records of a person that files a notification without issuance of a subpoena.

(5) The state treasurer shall credit all fees collected under this part 1 to the consumer credit unit cash fund.

(6) (a) After notice and hearing, the administrator may order a person to cease and desist from engaging in violations of this code or any rule or order lawfully made pursuant to this part 1. The order issued by the administrator may require the person to pay to a buyer a refund of unlawful charges under this part 1 charged to the buyer and to pay an administrative penalty of up to one thousand five hundred dollars per violation.

(b) The state treasurer shall credit all receipts from the imposition of administrative penalties under this section to the consumer credit unit cash fund.

(c) A respondent aggrieved by an order of the administrator may seek judicial review of the order in the Colorado court of appeals. The administrator may obtain a court order for enforcement of the administrator's order in district court under section 24-4-106. All proceedings under this section are governed by sections 24-4-105 and 24-4-106.

(7) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Administrator" means the administrator of the uniform consumer credit code.

(b) "Consumer credit unit cash fund" means the consumer credit unit cash fund created in section 5-2-302 (11).

Source: L. 2017: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 17-1238), ch. 260, p. 1136, § 4, effective August 9. L. 2024: (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) added, (HB 24-1380), ch. 463, p. 3220, § 2, effective August 7.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 12-14.5-110.5 as it existed prior to 2017.