In the waning days of the 2001-2002 legislative session, then Assemblymember Kevin Shelley gutted and amended AB 55. As introduced, AB 55 would have amended the Elections Code. Instead, AB 55 became the vehicle for the enactment of the deeply flawed California Corporate Disclosure Act.

In the ensuing years, most practitioners and their clients have focused disclosure requirements of AB 55. However, AB 55 also established a fund for providing restitution to the “victims of corporate fraud”. Cal. Corp. Code § 1502.5. Recently, I decided to check with the Secretary of State’s office regarding the fund.