SB 1129 — electric nonprofit cooperatives; patronage capital

SB1129 - 531R - SH Ver       SenateHouse Engrossed Senate Bill       State of Arizona Senate Fifty-third Legislature First Regular Session     SENATE BILL 1129       AN ACT   amending title 10, chapter 19, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 10‑2071;

definitionreserve A.  Anyaccount; patronage capital credit or fee payment from a cooperative to its member or former member is an unclaimed capital credit or fee if The credit or fee remains unclaimed for either of the following:

1.  Adefinition A.  Any patronage capital credit retirement payment or fee payment from a cooperative to its member or former member is an unclaimed capital credit or fee if The credit or fee remains unclaimed for a period of timetwo asyears delineatedafter inthe payment was made available to the cooperative'smember bylaws.or former member.

2.  IfB.  A therural bylawselectric docooperative notshall delineateuse timean asunclaimed describedcapital incredit paragraphor 1fee ofpayment thisin subsection,accordance twowith years after the paymentcooperative's wasbylaws madefor availableany toof the memberfollowing orpurposes: former member.

B.  A cooperative may use an unclaimed capital credit or fee, in accordance with the cooperative's bylaws, for any of the following purposes:

2.  Financial assistance to schools,schools nonprofit organizations or community organizations.

4.  OtherC.  A charitablerural purposeselectric approvedcooperative bymay pay an unclaimed capital credit or fee payment in accordance with the boardcooperative's ofbylaws directorsto a nonprofit organization that performs functions described in subsection B of thethis cooperative.section.

C.  UnclaimedD.  From capitaland creditsafter andDecember fees31, are2000, A rural electric cooperative is exempt from title 44, chapter 3.

D.  ForE.  For thea purposesverifiable ofunclaimed thiscapital section,credit "patronageor capital"fee includesclaim alloriginating amounts received by a cooperative from salesand ofafter electricDecember power,31, energy2000 distributionand servicesbefore orthe othereffective servicesdate to members in excess of thethis cooperative'ssection, costa ofrural furnishing electric power,cooperative energymust distributionhonor servicesthe orclaim otherfor servicesten toyears membersafter and other margins as determined by the boardeffective ofdate directors of thethis cooperative.section.

END_STATUTEF.  For Sec. 2.  Retroactivityeach Thisverifiable actunclaimed appliescapital retroactivelycredit toor fee claim originating from and after Decemberthe 31,effective 2000.date of this section, a rural electric cooperative must honor each claim for a ten‑year period.

G.  A rural electric cooperative shall maintain at least twenty percent of all outstanding unclaimed capital credits or fees in a reserve account for a period of ten years for each unclaimed capital credit or fee originating from and after December 31, 2000.  Thereafter, the rural electric cooperative may use remaining reserves for any purpose described in subsection B of this section.

H.  A rural electric cooperative shall make every reasonable effort to return an unclaimed capital credit or fee to each member or former member or to an heir or a representative of the member or former member.  Within six months after an unclaimed capital credit or fee claim is presumed unclaimed, the rural electric cooperative shall post the unclaimed capital credit or fee on a website that the department of revenue uses and that consists of a database of governmental unclaimed property records.

I.  For the purposes of this section, "patronage capital" includes all amounts received by a cooperative from sales of electric power, energy distribution services or other services to members in excess of the cooperative's cost of furnishing electric power, energy distribution services or other services to members and other margins as determined by the board of directors of the cooperative.

END_STATUTE Sec. 2.  Applicability An unclaimed capital credit or fee is the property of an individual member of a rural electric cooperative.  A rural electric cooperative shall make all reasonable efforts to return the property to the member for a period of at least ten years.  The rural electric cooperative shall have the flexibility to use a portion of the unclaimed capital credit for charitable uses as prescribed by law.

Sec. 3.  Retroactivity This act applies retroactively to from and after December 31, 2000.