Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1707.02 – Exempt securities

(A) "Exempt," as used in this section, means exempt from sections 1707.08 to 1707.11 and 1707.39 of the Revised Code.
(B)
1. (1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, the following securities are exempt, if the issuer or guarantor has the power of taxation or assessment for the purpose of paying the obligation represented by the security, or is in specific terms empowered by the laws of the state of issuance to issue securities payable as to principal or interest, or as to both, out of revenues collected or administered by such issuer:
  1. (a) Any security issued or guaranteed by the United States;
  2. (b) Any security issued or guaranteed by, and recognized, at the time of sale, as its valid obligation by, any foreign government with which the United States is, at the time of sale, maintaining diplomatic relations;
  3. (c) Any security issued or guaranteed, and recognized as its valid obligation, by any political subdivision or any governmental or other public body, corporation, or agency in or of the United States, any state, territory, or possession of the United States, or any foreign government with which the United States is, at the time of sale, maintaining diplomatic relations.
2. (2) If a security described in division (B)(1) of this section is not payable out of the proceeds of a general tax, the security is exempt only if, at the time of its first sale in this state, there is no default in the payment of any of the interest or principal of the security, and there are no adjudications or pending suits adversely affecting its validity.
(C) Any security issued or guaranteed by a state or nationally chartered bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union, or a governmental corporation or agency created by or under the laws of the United States or of Canada is exempt, if it is under the supervision of or subject to regulation by the government or state under whose laws it was organized.
(D) Any interim certificate is exempt, if the securities to be delivered therefor are themselves exempt, are the subject matter of an exempt transaction, have been registered by description or registered by qualification, or are the subject matter of a transaction which has been registered by description.
(E)
1. (1) A security is exempt if it meets any of the following requirements:
  1. (a) The security is listed, or authorized for listing, on the New York stock exchange, the American stock exchange, or the national market system of the NASDAQ stock market, or any successor to such entities.
  2. (b) The security is listed, or authorized for listing, on a national securities exchange or system, or on a tier or segment of such exchange or system, designated by the securities and exchange commission in rule 146(b) promulgated under section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933.
  3. (c) The security is listed, or authorized for listing, on a national securities exchange or system, or on a tier or segment of such exchange or system, that has listing standards that the division of securities, on its own initiative or on the basis of an application, determines by rule are substantially similar to the listing standards applicable to securities described in division (E)(1)(a) of this section.
  4. (d) The security is a security of the same issuer that is equal in seniority or that is a senior security to a security described in division (E)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section.
2. (2) Application for approval of a stock exchange or system not approved in this section may be made by any organized stock exchange or system, or by any dealer who is a member of such exchange, in such manner and upon such forms as are prescribed by the division, accompanied by payment of an approval fee of two hundred dollars, and the division shall make such investigation and may hold such hearings as it deems necessary to determine the propriety of giving approval. The cost of such investigation shall be borne by the applicant. The division may enter an order of approval, and if it does so, it shall notify the applicant of such approval.
3. (3) The division may revoke the approval of an exchange or system enumerated in division (E)(1) of this section, provided that the exchange or system is not listed in section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 or any rule promulgated thereunder. The division may effect a revocation after due notice, investigation, a hearing, and a finding that the practices or requirements of such exchange or system have been so changed or modified, or are, in their actual operation, such that the contemplated protection is no longer afforded. The principles of res adjudicata ordinarily applicable in civil matters shall not be applicable to this matter, which is hereby declared to be administrative rather than judicial. Notice of the hearing may be given by certified mail at least ten days before such hearing.
4. (4) The division may suspend the exemption of any security described in division (E)(1) of this section, provided that the security is listed or authorized for listing on an exchange or system that is not listed in section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 or any rule promulgated thereunder. The division may effect a suspension by giving notice, by certified mail, to that effect to the exchange or system upon which such security is listed or designated and to the issuer of such security. After notice and hearing, the division may revoke such exemption if it appears to it that sales of such security have been fraudulent or that future sales of it would be fraudulent. The division shall set such hearing not later than ten days from the date of the order of suspension, but may for good cause continue such hearing upon application of the exchange or system upon which such security is listed or designated or upon application of the issuer of such security.
(F) Any security, issued or guaranteed as to principal, interest, or dividend or distribution by a corporation owning or operating any public utility, is exempt, if such corporation is, as to its rates and charges or as to the issuance and guaranteeing of securities, under the supervision of or regulated by a public commission, board, or officer of the United States, or of Canada, or of any state, province, or municipal corporation in either of such countries. Equipment-trust securities based on chattel mortgages, leases, or agreements for conditional sale, of cars, locomotives, motor trucks, or other rolling stock or of motor vehicles mortgaged, leased, or sold to, or finished for the use of, a public utility, are exempt; and so are equipment securities where the ownership or title of such equipment is pledged or retained, in accordance with the laws of the United States or of any state, or of Canada or any province thereof, to secure the payment of such securities.
(G) Commercial paper and promissory notes are exempt when they are not offered directly or indirectly for sale to the public.
(H) Any security issued or guaranteed by an insurance company, except as provided in section 1707.32 of the Revised Code, is exempt if such company is under the supervision of, and the issuance or guaranty of such security is regulated by, a state.
(I) Any security, except notes, bonds, debentures, or other evidences of indebtedness or of promises or agreements to pay money, which is issued by a person, corporation, or association organized not for profit, including persons, corporations, and associations organized exclusively for conducting county fairs, or for religious, educational, social, recreational, athletic, benevolent, fraternal, charitable, or reformatory purposes, and agricultural cooperatives as defined in section 1729.01 of the Revised Code, is exempt, if no part of the net earnings of such issuer inures to the benefit of any shareholder or member of such issuer or of any individual, and if the total commission, remuneration, expense, or discount in connection with the sale of such securities does not exceed two per cent of the total sale price thereof plus five hundred dollars.
(J)
1. (1) Any securities outstanding for a period of not less than five years, on which there has occurred no default in payment of principal, interest, or dividend or distribution for the five years immediately preceding the sale, are exempt.
2. (2) For the purpose of division (J) of this section, the dividend, distribution, or interest rate on securities in which no such rate is specified shall be at the rate of at least four per cent annually on the aggregate of the price at which such securities are to be sold.
(K) All bonds issued under authority of Chapter 165. or 761., or section 4582.06 or 4582.31 of the Revised Code are exempt.