Minnesota Session Laws - 1992, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1992 

                        CHAPTER 435-H.F.No. 1489 
           An act relating to cooperatives; applying the open 
          meeting law to certain electric cooperatives; 
          proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
          chapter 308A. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [308A.327] [ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE; BOARD 
MEETINGS.] 
    A regular or special meeting of the board of directors of 
an electric cooperative that has more than 50,000 members must 
be open to all members of the cooperative.  The board shall give 
reasonable prior notice of meetings.  The board may close a 
meeting or a portion of a meeting, provided the board has made a 
written determination that a closed meeting is necessary for one 
of the following reasons: 
    (1) to discuss personnel matters, compensation issues, 
labor negotiations, billing and credit information, or an issue 
that may tend to prejudice the reputation of an individual; 
    (2) to discuss threatened or pending litigation, issues 
subject to an attorney-client privilege, or other legal 
information, the knowledge of which may have an adverse effect 
on the cooperative's legal position; or 
    (3) to discuss or disclose information that, if discussed 
in an open meeting, would result in impairment of the 
cooperative's competitive or financial position, interfere with 
a business opportunity, or reveal proprietary information. 
    For the purposes of clause (3), a business opportunity 
means an opportunity for substantial financial improvement of 
the cooperative that, if generally known, would likely 
jeopardize the opportunity itself. 
    The board may close a portion of a meeting after announcing 
during an open meeting the item of business to be discussed 
during the closed portion. 
    Presented to the governor April 6, 1992 
    Signed by the governor April 9, 1992, 4:22 p.m.