On Wednesday of this week, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship sponsored a public hearing on the state of the franchising industry. The hearing, entitled: Small Business Franchising: An Overview of the Industry, SBA’s Role and Legislative Proposals, featured a number of witnesses, primary among whom was Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), the author of a critical report on franchising of which we’ve advised you in the past. Senator Cortez Masto has also authored a couple of bills (SBA Franchise Loan Transparency Act and the SBA Franchise Loan Disclosure Act), both of which make additional critical information available to prospective franchisees. In her testimony, the first term Senator stated “Our small business owners don’t expect their businesses to be risk-free. But if they purchase a franchise, they absolutely deserve to know what they’re getting into. Right now, that’s not always the case. . .”