Secretary Griswold Applauds Passage of Bill to Protect Businesses from Deceptive Solicitations
The Deceptive Solicitations Act is one of Secretary Griswold’s priorities for the 2023 legislative session
Denver, April 12, 2023 - Today, Secretary of State Jena Griswold applauded the signing of SB23-037, the “Deceptive Solicitations Act.” The act, which was a priority of Secretary Griswold’s this legislative session, was sponsored by Senator Lisa Cutter and Representatives Iman Jodeh and Mary Bradfield. It was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis on April 11, 2023.
The act puts meaningful restrictions on deceptive solicitations sent by third parties to Colorado businesses related to documents filed with or provided by the Secretary of State’s office.
“This new law adds protections from bad actors who mislead business owners into paying unnecessary and exorbitant fees,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “Colorado business owners are the backbone of Colorado’s economy. My sincere thanks to the bill’s sponsors, Senator Cutter and Representatives Jodeh and Bradfield, for joining me to make it easier to run a business in Colorado.”
“I received many of these egregious solicitations in my years as a small business owner, and I’m thrilled to work with the Secretary of State to provide transparency around them,” said Senator Lisa Cutter, the bill’s prime sponsor in the senate. “Information is power, and this will equip small business owners to make good decisions with their often-limited resources.”
"I’m proud to protect Colorado’s hard working business owners from bad actors who want to take advantage of their limited bandwidth,” said Representative Iman Jodeh, one of the bill’s co-prime sponsors in the House. "This bill makes sure that Colorado business owners have the information they need to grow and thrive so they can keep putting their customers first."
The solicitations addressed in this new law are often sent by third-party organizations who encourage Colorado business owners to pay exorbitant costs for a service which can be done directly through the Secretary of State’s Office. The Deceptive Solicitations Act establishes criteria for business solicitations and penalties for failing to do so.
Any solicitation from a third party related to documents filed with or provided by the Secretary of State’s office must include:
- A written disclaimer in the same language of the document declaring that the solicitation is an advertisement and not being sent by or affiliated with a government agency.
- For mailings: no font in the document can be larger than the size of the disclaimer, and the disclaimer must be no smaller than 24-point font.
- For electronic messages: the disclaimer must be at the beginning of any text or email communication.
- Information explaining where an individual can file the document directly or retrieve a copy of the public record themselves from the Secretary of State’s Office.
- The name, physical address, and contact information of the person soliciting the fee or sending the solicitation.
Solicitations may not include deadline dates or other language that implies the document:
- Is issued by a state agency or local government.
- Imposes a legal duty on the person being solicited.
The bill includes an exemption for entities that have an existing relationship with the business owner and provide a variety of business services, including but not limited to acting as their registered agent.
