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House Engrossed Senate Bill |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-third Legislature First Regular Session 2017
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SENATE BILL 1129 |
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AN ACT
amending title 10, chapter 19, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 10‑2071; relating to electric cooperative nonprofit membership corporations.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 10, chapter 19, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 10-2071, to read:
10-2071. Unclaimed patronage capital credits; fees; uses; exemption; reserve account; definition
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 two years after the payment was made available to the member or former member.
B. A rural electric cooperative shall use an unclaimed capital credit or fee payment in accordance with the cooperative's bylaws for any of the following purposes:
1. Financial assistance to students.
2. Financial assistance to schools or community organizations.
3. Utility bill assistance to low‑income cooperative members.
C. A rural electric cooperative may pay an unclaimed capital credit or fee payment in accordance with the cooperative's bylaws to a nonprofit organization that performs functions described in subsection B of this section.
D. From and after December 31, 2000, A rural electric cooperative is exempt from title 44, chapter 3.
E. For a verifiable unclaimed capital credit or fee claim originating from and after December 31, 2000 and before the effective date of this section, a rural electric cooperative must honor the claim for ten years after the effective date of this section.
F. For each verifiable unclaimed capital credit or fee claim originating from and after the effective 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.
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.