; opportunity to cure. Sec. 9. Effect of termination. Sec. 10. Transfer of franchise by franchisor. Sec. 11. Private right of action. Sec. 12. Scope and applicability. Sec. 13. Definitions. Sec. 14. Severability. Sec. 15. State attorneys general. 2. Findings and purpose (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Franchise businesses represent a large and growing segment of the Nation’s retail and service businesses and are rapidly replacing more traditional forms of small business ownership in the American economy. (2) Franchise businesses involve a joint enterprise between the franchisor and franchisees in which each party has a vested interest in the success of the franchised business. (3) Most prospective franchisees lack bargaining power and generally invest substantial amounts to obtain a franchise business when they are unfamiliar with operating a business, with the business being franchised, and with industry practices in franchising. (4) Franchisees invest a substantial amount of their own money, take loans (often secured by their own home and retirement accounts, and the American taxpayer via loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration), and enter into long-term commercial leases and other obligations for the franchise businesses in order to support themselves and their families. (5) Franchise agreements reflect a profound imbalance of contractual power in favor of the franchisor, and fail to give due regard to the legitimate business interests of the franchisee, as a result of the franchisor reserving one-sided and pervasive contractual rights over the franchise relationship. (6) Franchisees may suffer substantial financial losses when the franchisor does not provide truthful or complete information regarding the franchise opportunity, or where the franchisor does not act in good faith or in a commercially reasonable manner in the performance of the franchise agreement. (7) Unlike investments in securities, an investment in a franchise may lead to substantial additional losses well beyond