§ 23-17-217 — Meetings of members

(a) Meetings of members may be held at such place as may be designated by the board. In the absence of any such provision, all meetings shall be held in the principal office of the cooperative in this state. (b) Annual meetings of the members shall be held at such time as may be designated by the board. Failure to hold the annual meeting at the designated time shall not work forfeiture or dissolution of the cooperative. (c) Special meetings of the members may be called by the president, or by the board of directors, and shall be called by the president upon petition signed by not less than ten percent (10%) of all the members. (d) Written or printed notice, containing the place, day, and hour of the meeting of members and, in case of special meeting, the purpose for which the meeting is called, shall be delivered not fewer than five (5) days nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting, either personally or by mail, to each member of record entitled to vote as a member at the meeting. If mailed, the notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mails, with postage prepaid, in a sealed envelope addressed to the member at his or her address as it appears on the records of the cooperative. (e) Each member present in person at any meeting shall be entitled to one (1), and only one (1), vote on each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members, but voting by mail or proxy may be provided for in the bylaws. Notwithstanding, the bylaws may require each member to vote in person on certain matters. (f) (1) Unless the bylaws prescribe the presence of a greater percentage of the number of members for a quorum, a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the members of the cooperative shall be ten percent (10%) of all members, and, of a cooperative having more than five hundred (500) members, a quorum shall be not fewer than fifty (50) members. However, in the event a cooperative is unable to attain a quorum at its annual meeting, the board of directors in the next annual meeting or in a notice of special meeting may declare that the number of members present at the meeting shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting business. (2) If less than a quorum is present at any meeting, a majority of those present in person or by proxy may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice.

Legislative History

Acts 1951, No. 51, §§ 14-17; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 77-1614 -- 77-1617; Acts 1989, No. 437, § 11; 1997, No. 316, § 7; 1999, No. 946, §§ 5, 6.