HF 1504

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to agriculture; requiring certain member 
  1.3             protections in the articles of incorporation for 
  1.4             agricultural cooperatives; prohibiting certain 
  1.5             activities by agricultural cooperatives; proposing 
  1.6             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 308A.
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [308A.175] [PROTECTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF 
  1.9   AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE.] "Agricultural 
  1.11  cooperative" means a cooperative formed and incorporated 
  1.12  primarily for agricultural marketing or agricultural supply 
  1.13  purposes. 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [MEMBER AND NONMEMBER PATRON RIGHTS.] If an 
  1.15  agricultural cooperative produces livestock or agricultural 
  1.16  commodity crops or invests in agricultural production 
  1.17  enterprises, a stockholder, member, or nonmember patron of the 
  1.18  cooperative may demand immediate payment of the person's 
  1.19  undisbursed patronage dividends or earnings that have accrued 
  1.20  from the agricultural supply or agricultural marketing 
  1.21  activities of the cooperative.  The cooperative must not set 
  1.22  aside any portion of the person's patronage dividends or 
  1.23  earnings to a capital reserve or additional reserves as 
  1.24  described in section 308A.701.  The cooperative must not 
  1.25  adversely change the membership status of a person who demands 
  1.26  payment under this subdivision. 
  2.1      On demand by a shareholder, member, former shareholder, 
  2.2   former member, or patron of an agricultural cooperative who 
  2.3   wishes to terminate membership, the cooperative must provide 
  2.4   immediate redemption of the shareholder's, member's, or patron's 
  2.5   equity capital held by the cooperative. 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [CONFORMITY IN ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION AND 
  2.7   BYLAWS.] (a) An agricultural cooperative organized on or after 
  2.8   August 1, 1999, must include in its articles and bylaws, as 
  2.9   appropriate, provisions in conformity with subdivision 2. 
  2.10     (b) Not later than August 1, 2001, each agricultural 
  2.11  cooperative that existed prior to August 1, 1999, must bring its 
  2.12  articles and bylaws, as appropriate, into conformity with 
  2.13  subdivision 2.  If the articles and bylaws of an agricultural 
  2.14  cooperative are not brought into conformity within the two-year 
  2.15  period, the provisions of subdivision 2 are deemed included in 
  2.16  them and are binding on the cooperative as if they were actually 
  2.17  included. 
  2.18     Sec. 2.  [308A.176] [PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.] 
  2.19     A cooperative organized on or after August 1, 1999, 
  2.20  primarily for agricultural marketing or agricultural supply 
  2.21  purposes is prohibited from producing agricultural products or 
  2.22  investing in agricultural production enterprises.  This 
  2.23  prohibition applies on August 1, 2001, to such cooperatives 
  2.24  organized before August 1, 1999.