Colorado § 5-6-106 - Investigatory powers.

§ 5-6-106. Investigatory powers.

(1) If the administrator has reasonable cause to believe that a person has engaged in an act that is subject to action by the administrator, the administrator may make an investigation to determine if the act has been committed, and, to the extent necessary for this purpose, may administer oaths or affirmations, and, upon his or her own motion or upon request of any party, may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, adduce evidence, and require the production of any matter that is relevant to the investigation, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts, or any other matter reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. In any civil action brought by the administrator as a result of such an investigation, the administrator may recover the reasonable costs of making the investigation if the administrator prevails in the action.

(2) If the person's records are located outside this state, the person at his or her option shall either make them available to the administrator at a convenient location within this state or pay the reasonable and necessary expenses for the administrator or the administrator's representative to examine them at the place where they are maintained. The administrator may designate representatives, including comparable officials of the state in which the records are located, to inspect them on the administrator's behalf.

(3) Upon failure without lawful excuse to obey a subpoena or to give testimony, the administrator may apply to the district court for an order compelling compliance.

(4) The administrator shall not make public the name or identity of a person whose acts or conduct he or she investigates pursuant to this section or the facts disclosed in the investigation, but this subsection (4) does not apply to disclosures in actions or enforcement proceedings pursuant to this code.

Source: L. 2000: Entire article R&RE, p. 1247, § 1, effective July 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 5-6-106, as it existed prior to 2000.

ANNOTATION

Absent a waiver of immunity, an Indian tribe is immune from any action—criminal, civil, or injunctive—the attorney general may bring in a court to enforce the Uniform Consumer Credit Code. State ex rel. Suthers v. Cash Ad. & Pref., 205 P.3d 389 (Colo. App. 2008), aff'd on other grounds sub nom. Cash Advance & Pref. Cash Loans v. State, 242 P.3d 1099 (Colo. 2010).

Tribal sovereign immunity does not prevent the enforcement of the attorney general's subpoenas for information relevant to the determination by the trial court of whether sovereign immunity applies to a business affiliated with the tribe. State ex rel. Suthers v. Cash Ad. & Pref., 205 P.3d 389 (Colo. App. 2008), aff'd on other grounds sub nom. Cash Advance & Pref. Cash Loans v. State, 242 P.3d 1099 (Colo. 2010).

Under this section the state has investigative authority to subpoena records from out-of-state nontribal entities, and state courts have authority to enforce those subpoenas. State ex rel. Suthers v. Tulips Invs., LLC, 2012 COA 206, 343 P.3d 977, aff'd, 2015 CO 1, 340 P.3d 1126.