SF2471

Purpose of the Bill

This bill aims to improve transparency, accessibility, and member engagement within electric cooperatives in Minnesota. It seeks to make cooperative board meetings, documents, and election processes more open and accessible to all members.

Main Provisions

• Open Board Meetings: Electric cooperatives with more than 50,000 members must make their board meetings open for all members to attend, with reasonable notice provided. Members should also have the ability to participate remotely.

• Closed Meetings: Meetings or parts of meetings can be closed for discussing sensitive topics like personnel matters, legal issues, or proprietary business opportunities.

• Member Access to Information: Cooperatives are required to maintain certain documents and information on their websites, accessible to members. This includes the articles of incorporation, bylaws, meeting minutes, financial statements, and more.

• Membership List Access: Members may request access to the cooperative's membership list, which includes names, addresses, and contact information, provided they do so in good faith and agree not to use the list for commercial purposes.

• Board Director Nominations and Elections: Members must be able to nominate candidates for the board of directors through a petition signed by at least 40 members. Voting for board directors must be available by mail and internet to ensure secure and secret balloting.

• Capital Credits Notification: Members must be notified annually about their capital credit allocations and can request details about their cumulative credit accumulation.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

The bill amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 308A.327 to enforce transparency in electric cooperative operations and enhance member participation in governance through open meetings, access to cooperative documents, and new voting processes.

Relevant Terms

• Electric cooperative
• Board of directors
• Transparency
• Membership list
• Capital credits
• Remote participation
• Proxy votes
• Ballot secrecy