SF 578 (LSB 1636SV (2) 91)

SENATE FILE 578

BY  COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 169)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to record access by members of certain special districts and associations providing utility service.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  357A.26  Financial records access.
   A rural water district or rural water association incorporated under this chapter or chapter 504 shall, upon reasonable request by any member of the district or association, provide to the member the district’s or association’s most recent biennial report and any requested financial information, including the district’s or association’s budget and balance sheet. The requested information shall be delivered to the member no later than thirty days after the request.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  498.38  Financial records access.
   An association that provides utility service to its members shall, upon reasonable request by any member of the association, provide to the member the association’s most recent biennial report and any requested financial information, including the association’s budget and balance sheet. The requested information shall be delivered to the member no later than thirty days after the request.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  499.81  Financial records access.
   An association that provides utility service to its members shall, upon reasonable request by any member of the association, provide to the member the association’s most recent biennial report and any requested financial information, including the association’s budget and balance sheet. The requested information shall be delivered to the member no later than thirty days after the request.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides that if a rural water district, rural water association, nonprofit cooperative association, or cooperative association provides utility service to members, the most recent biennial report and financial information, including the budget and balance sheet, for the rural water district, rural water association, nonprofit cooperative association, or cooperative association must be made available to a member within 30 days of a reasonable request by the member.
   A rural water district means a rural water district incorporated and organized pursuant to the provisions of Code chapter 357A.
   A rural water association means a rural water association organized and incorporated as a cooperative association under Code chapter 499 or as a nonprofit corporation under Code chapter 504.
   A nonprofit cooperative association means a corporate body composed of actual producers or consumers of the given commodity handled by the association, whose business is conducted for the mutual benefit of its members and not for the profit of stockholders, and for which control is vested in its members upon the basis of one vote to each member.
   A cooperative association is one that deals with or functions for its member and that distributes its net earnings among its members in proportion to their dealings with it, except for limited dividends or other items permitted in Code chapter 499, and in which each voting member has one vote and no more.