Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Section 33-49-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-50.
Cooperatives and foreign corporations transacting business
in this State pursuant to this chapter, except for the
provisions of Sections 58-27-40, 58-27-610 through 58-27-670,
58-27-820, 58-27-840, 58-27-1210, 58-27-1270, 58-27-1280,
and 58-27-210, and 33-49-150
shall be are exempt from the
jurisdiction and control of the Public Service Commission of
this State.
SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 49, Title 33 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 33-49-150. The Office of Regulatory Staff under the provisions of this section is hereby vested with the authority and jurisdiction to make inspections, audits and examinations of electric cooperatives pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 4, Title 58 relating to the compliance of electric cooperatives with the provisions of Sections 33-49-255, 33-49-280, 33-49-420, 33-49-430, 33-49-440, 33-49-450, 33-49-610, 33-49-615, 33-49-620, 33-49-625, 33-49-630, 33-49-640, 33-49-645, 33-49-1410, 33-49-1420, 33-49-1430, 33-49-1440, 58-27-820 and 58-27-840. The Office of Regulatory Staff is granted authority and jurisdiction over electric cooperatives that provide only wholesale services with regard to any of the foregoing statutory provisions to the extent that those provisions are applicable to the wholesale electric cooperatives. Where an electric cooperative board of trustees has exercised its business judgment in accordance with sound business and management practices and consistent with the long-term financial stability of the cooperative and the benefit of its members, the Office of Regulatory Staff is not authorized to disturb the resulting decisions of the electric cooperative board of trustees. Upon completion of an authorized inspection, audit or examination, the Office of Regulatory Staff must report its findings to the management and board of the electric cooperative and attempt to resolve with the management and board any compliance issues that are identified. The Public Service Commission is vested with the authority and jurisdiction to resolve any disputed issues arising from the inspections, audits or examinations."
SECTION 3. Section 33-49-255 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-255.
(A) Except as provided in subsection
(B) of this section, an electric cooperative must not interrupt
electric service to any residential customer for nonpayment of a
bill until twenty-five days have elapsed from the date of
billing.
(B) An electric cooperative may interrupt
electric service to a residential customer who has voluntarily
enrolled in a prepay program if the prepay program allows the
customer to monitor his consumption of electricity and his
account balance on a daily basis and the balance of that
customer's prepay account is zero, provided that the following
conditions are met:
(1)
at the time the residential customer enrolls in the prepay
program, the residential customer is informed and agrees that
his electric service may be interrupted when the balance of his
prepay account reaches zero;
(2)
electric service must not be interrupted before 10:00 a.m.
on the next business day following an attempt by the electric
cooperative to give the customer notice of the impending
interruption by telephone or electronically; and
(3)
service must not be interrupted except during hours when
the electric cooperative is accepting cash payments. For
purposes of this subsection, a business day is any day in which
the electric cooperative, or an agent, is accepting cash
payments.
(C) Nothing contained
herein shall in this section must be
construed so as to relieve an electric cooperative of the
requirements of Act 313 of 2006.
(D)
Any A person aggrieved by a
violation of this section may petition the courts of
this State must make a complaint to the Office of
Regulatory Staff for redress in accordance with applicable
law and notwithstanding Section 58-27-210, the Public
Service Commission shall have no jurisdiction over an electric
cooperative by reason of this section."
SECTION 4. Section 33-49-420 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-420.
An annual meeting of the members shall
must be held at such a time as
shall be provided in the bylaws. Special
meetings of the members may be called by the board of trustees,
by any three trustees, by not less than ten per cent of the
members or by the president. Meetings of members
shall must be held at
such a place as may be
provided in the bylaws. In the absence of any such
provision, all meetings shall
must be held in the city or town in which the principal
office of the cooperative is located.
Except as herein otherwise
provided, written or printed notice stating the time and place
of each meeting of members and, in the case of a special
meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is
called, shall must be given to each
member, either personally or by mail, not less than ten nor more
than twentyforty-five days before the
date of the meeting. However, for the annual meeting and for
a special meeting where the stated purpose includes an election
to be voted on by the general membership, at least thirty days
notice of the meeting is required in order to permit early
voting in the manner required by Section 33-49-440. For the
purposes of calculating when notice should be given, the day of
the meeting should not be included in the count.
SECTION 5. A. Section 33-49-430 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-430.
Five per cent percent of all
members present in person shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business at all meetings of the members unless
the bylaws prescribe the presence of a greater percentage of the
members for a quorum. If less than a quorum is present at any
meeting a majority of those present in person may adjourn the
meeting from time to time without further notice. A vote
cast by a member at an early voting site counts for purposes of
determining the presence of a quorum at the meeting where the
election is to be held. Voting by proxy for any purpose is
prohibited."
B. Section 33-49-440 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-440.
Each A member is entitled to one
vote on each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting. Voting
must be in person but, if the bylaws provide, also may
be by proxy. If the bylaws provide for voting by proxy they also
must prescribe the conditions under which proxy voting may be
exercised. A person may not vote as proxy unless he is a member
of the cooperative and may not vote as proxy for more than three
members at a meeting of the members. For meetings
that include the election of cooperative trustees, polling
locations must be open for a minimum of four hours.
When at least one of the races for
cooperative trustee are contested, each cooperative must provide
a method by which members of the cooperative may cast a ballot
in an election for trustees on a day other than, and before, the
annual meeting day. The method for this alternative early
voting should allow for voting by cooperative members prior to
and after regular working hours and should include reasonable
accommodations for elderly, disabled, or infirmed members as
permitted by this section.
C. Section 33-49-620 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-620.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
bylaws may provide that the territory in which a cooperative
supplies electric energy to its members shall be divided into
two or more voting districts and that, in respect of each
such voting district:
(1) a designated number of trustees
shall must be elected by the members
residing therein;
(2) a designated number of delegates
shall must be elected by
such the members; or
(3) both such trustees and
delegates shall must be elected by
such the members.
In any such case The
bylaws shall prescribe the manner in which such voting
districts, the members thereof of them
and the delegates and trustees, if any, elected
therefrom from them shall function and
the powers of the delegates, which may include the power to
elect trustees. No A member at
any a voting district meeting and
no a delegate at any
a meeting shall vote in person, at the meeting or an
alternative early voting site, or by proxy
or by mail.
"
SECTION 6. Section 33-49-610 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-610.
(A) The business and affairs of a
cooperative must be managed by a board of not less than five
trustees, each of whom must be a member of the cooperative or of
another cooperative which is a member of the cooperative.
Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, each trustee's
principal residence, as determined by South Carolina voter
registration law, must be served by the cooperative. The
bylaws must prescribe the number of trustees, their
qualifications, other than those provided for in this chapter,
the manner of holding meetings of the board, and the filling of
vacancies on the board.
(B) The bylaws also may
provide for the removal of trustees from office and for the
election of their successors as follows:
(1)(a) A temporary
suspension of a trustee for cause may occur upon the affirmative
vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the board until
the next annual or special meeting. At that meeting the
membership may remove the suspended trustee for cause from the
board by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members
present and voting. In the event the membership refuses to vote
to remove the trustee, he must be reinstated immediately with
all the powers of his office and continue to serve for the
remainder of his elected term.
(b)
'Cause' for removal of a trustee under this section means
fraudulent or dishonest acts, or gross abuse of authority in the
discharge of duties to the cooperative and must be established
after written notice of specific charges and opportunity to meet
and refute charges.
(2)
A successor may be elected as provided by the bylaws of
the cooperative.
This subsection does not apply to a
cooperative when a majority of its members are other
cooperatives. Cooperatives which are excluded from the removal
provisions of this subsection may provide any terms and
conditions for removal of trustees as may be authorized in their
bylaws.
(C) If a husband and
wife hold a joint membership in a cooperative, one, but not
both, may be elected a trustee.
(D) The board of
trustees may exercise all of the powers of a cooperative except
those powers conferred upon the members by this chapter, its
articles of incorporation, or bylaws.
(E)
Notwithstanding any provisions in the bylaws to the
contrary, a vacancy in the office of trustee occurring for any
reason other than expiration of a term may be filled only for
the remainder of the unexpired term by a vote of the membership
at the next annual meeting.
(F) If a
vacancy in the office of trustee occurs more than six months
from the date of the next annual meeting, a new trustee may be
appointed to fill the vacancy on an interim basis by the
nominations committee of the cooperative provided:
(1)
the new trustee is not a 'family member', as
defined in Section 8-13-100(15), of the trustee whose departure
created the vacancy;
(2)
the new trustee is not 'an individual with whom
he is associated', as defined in Section 8-13-100(21), of the
trustee whose departure created the vacancy;
(3)
the new trustee cannot continue to serve as a
trustee past the date of the next annual meeting occurring after
his appointment, subject to annual meeting notice requirements,
without being duly elected by the membership to fill the
remainder of the unexpired term."
SECTION 7. Article 7, Chapter 49, Title 33 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 33-49-615.
(A) The board of trustees must
disclose at a location accessible and visible to the cooperative
membership on its website by May fifteenth of each year, all
compensation or benefits by category paid to or provided for
board members during the previous calendar year. For purposes
of this section, categories include, but are not limited to:
(1)
daily per diem amount;
(2)
total per diem compensation paid for attendance at regular
meetings of the board of trustees;
(3)
total per diem compensation for attendance at special
meetings of the board, including board of trustee committee
meetings;
(4)
total per diem compensation for attendance at meetings of
cooperative service originations;
(5)
total per diem compensation for trustee training and
certification;
(6)
total expenses paid or reimbursed, including mileage,
subsistence, entertainment or travel expenses paid in
conjunction with subsection (A)(2) through (5);
(7)
the total value of and a description of any other fringe
benefits provided; and
(8)
the total value of and a description of any goods or
services required to be disclosed by Section
33-49-630(C)(3).
(B) The provisions of
this section first apply to the 2019 calendar year with the
unaudited disclosures required by this section to be made no
later than May 15, 2020.
SECTION 8. Article 7, Chapter 49, Title 33 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 33-49-621. Within eighteen months of the effective date of this section, each distribution cooperative must put the question of single-member voting districts to its membership at an annual meeting."
SECTION 9. Article 7, Title 33 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 33-49-625.
(A) Notwithstanding all other notice
requirements, written notice of all non-emergency meetings of
the board of trustees or the membership of the cooperative,
including membership meetings pursuant to the provisions of
Section 33-49-620, must be posted at a location accessible and
visible to the cooperative membership on the cooperative's
website and at the cooperative's principal place of business at
least ten days before the meeting. The notice must state the
time, place, location, and purpose of the meeting.
(B) Written notice of
emergency meetings of the board of trustees must be posted at a
location accessible and visible to the cooperative membership on
the cooperative's website and at the cooperative's principal
place of business at least twenty-four hours before the meeting.
Emergency meetings of the board may be called when appropriate
to deal with extraordinary circumstances, but the board of
trustees must not make decisions regarding rates, fees, charges,
board of trustees composition or board of trustees compensation
at an emergency meeting.
(C) All votes cast by
trustees at these meetings must be taken in open session except
where discussions include:
(1)
matters related to employees of the cooperative;
(2)
matters related to contracts or agreements with vendors or
suppliers;
(3)
matters related to particular cooperative members that
involve account or personal information;
(4)
matters related to economic development that involve the
discussion of potentially identifiable information about
businesses or industries that might be locating or expanding in
or near the cooperative service territory;
(5)
matters related to information or physical security
measures;
(6)
matters related to legal advice; and
(7)
matters not specifically listed but determined by the
board, on the advice of counsel, to constitute a reasonable risk
of damage to the cooperative membership due to the release of
proprietary, personnel, member, or account information.
(D) Where votes are
taken in executive session, the vote then must be ratified in
open session in a manner that does not compromise the purpose of
the executive session.
(E) Approved board
minutes detailing the actions taken at these meetings must be
provided within ten days of their approval to cooperative
members in the same manner that notice of the meeting was
provided."
SECTION 10. Section 33-49-630 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-630.
(A) The bylaws may make
provision for the compensation of trustees; provided, however,
that compensation shall not be paid except for actual attendance
upon activities authorized by the board. The bylaws may also
provide for the travel, expenses and other benefits of trustees,
as set by the board. A trustee, except in emergencies,
shall must not be employed by the cooperative in
any other capacity involving compensation."
(B) A member
of an electric cooperative's board of trustees may not:
(1)
knowingly use his position as a trustee to
obtain an economic interest in addition to his compensation, if
any, for serving as a member of the board of trustees for
himself, a family member, an individual with whom he is
associated, or a business with which he is associated;
(2)
have a business relationship with the electric
cooperative that is distinct from or in addition to the
trustee's mandatory cooperative membership pursuant to Section
33-49-610(A) or his service on the board of trustees; or
(3)
appoint, direct, or cause a family member to
become a member of a committee or an employee of the
cooperative.
(C) A
member of an electric cooperative board of trustees is not
prohibited by this section from accepting goods or services such
as lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, meals,
beverages, or any other thing of value provided that:
(1) the value
of the good or service is reasonable and the purpose relates to
his duties as a trustee;
(2)
the good or service is furnished on the same
terms or at the same expense to a member of the general public
or to general attendees of functions considered reasonable by
the board for the fulfillment of his duties as a trustee; or
(3)
if the good or service is of more than
twenty-five dollars in value and is furnished to the trustee by
a company that the trustee knows, has, or seeks a business
relationship other than a cooperative membership with the
cooperative, on whose board the trustee serves and the
cooperative is not an owner or a member of that company, the
trustee must disclose the acceptance of the good or service to
the board.
(D) For
purposes of this section, 'an individual with whom he is
associated' has the same meaning as provided in Section
8-13-100(21) and 'family member' has the same meaning as
provided in Section 8-13-100(15)."
SECTION 11. Section 33-49-640 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 33-49-640.
The trustees of a cooperative named in any articles of
incorporation, consolidation, merger or conversion, as the case
may be, shall hold office until the next following annual
meeting of the members or until their successors
shall have been elected and qualified.
Incumbent trustees seeking reelection shall not directly or
indirectly influence the nomination or credentials process.
At each annual meeting or, in case of failure to hold the annual
meeting as specified in the bylaws, at a special meeting called
for that purpose, the members shall elect trustees to hold
office until the next following annual meeting of the members,
except as herein otherwise provided. Each
trustee shall hold office for the term for which he is elected
or until his successor shall have been
is elected and qualified.
SECTION 12. Article 7, Chapter 49, Title 33 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 33-49-645. In the conduct of an election authorized by this chapter or in the bylaws of the cooperative, including the annual election of trustees, a cooperative must prohibit advocacy or campaigning within a distance of the polling place that reasonably ensures that cooperative members are able to vote without harassment, intimidation, or interference. The polling place, for purposes of this section, is the location where votes are collected for tabulation."
SECTION 13. Section 58-4-50(A) of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately numbered subitem to read:
"( ) when considered necessary by the Executive Director of the Office of Regulatory Staff and in the public interest, make inspections, audits, and examination of the compliance by electric cooperatives with the provisions of law specified in Section 33-49-150."
SECTION 14. Section 58-4-55 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 258 of 2018, is further amended to read:
"Section 58-4-55.
(A) The regulatory staff, in
accomplishing its responsibilities under Section 58-4-50, may
require the production of books, records, and other information
to be produced at the regulatory staff's office, that, upon
request of the regulatory staff, must be submitted under oath
and without the requirement of a confidentiality agreement or
protective order being first executed or sought. The regulatory
staff must treat the information as confidential or proprietary
unless or until the commission rules such information is not
entitled to protection from public disclosure or the public
utility or electric cooperative agrees that such
information is no longer confidential or proprietary. Unless
the commission's order contains a finding to the contrary, all
documents or information designated as confidential or
proprietary pursuant to this subsection are exempt from public
disclosure under Sections 30-4-10, et seq., and the regulatory
staff shall not disclose such documents and information, or the
contents thereof, to any member of the commission or to any
other person or entity; provided, however, that, if the
commission determines that it is necessary to view such
documents or information, it shall order the regulatory staff to
file the documents or information with the commission under
seal, and such documents or information shall not be available
for public inspection unless otherwise ordered by the
commission.
If the books, records, or other information
provided do not appear to disclose full and accurate information
and, if such apparent deficiencies are not cured after
reasonable notice, the regulatory staff may require the
attendance and testimony under oath of the officers,
accountants, or other agents of the parties having knowledge
thereof at such place as the regulatory staff may designate and
the expense of making the necessary examination or inspection
for the procuring of the information must be paid by the party
examined or inspected, to be collected by the regulatory staff
by suit or action, if necessary. If, however, the examination
and inspection and the reports thereof disclose that full and
accurate information had previously been made, the expense of
making the examination and inspection must be paid out of the
funds of the regulatory staff.
(B) If the regulatory
staff initiates an inspection, audit, or examination of a public
utility or electric cooperative, the public utility or
electric cooperative that is the subject of the inspection,
audit, or examination may petition the commission to terminate
or limit the scope of such inspection, audit, or examination.
The commission must grant such petition if it finds that such
inspection, audit, or examination is arbitrary, capricious,
unnecessary, unduly burdensome, or unrelated to the
public utility's regulated operations of the
public utility or electric cooperative.
(1)
If such an inspection, audit, or examination is not part
of a contested case proceeding, the public utility or
electric cooperative may also raise objections or seek
relief available under the South Carolina Rules of Civil
Procedure to a party upon whom discovery is served or to a
person upon whom a subpoena is served. The commission shall
provide the regulatory staff reasonable notice to respond to any
such objection or request. Absent the consent of the public
utility or electric cooperative raising such an objection
or request and the Office of Regulatory Staff, the commission
must rule on such an objection or request within sixty days of
the date it was filed. During the pendency of the commission's
ruling, the public utility or electric cooperative making
such an objection or request is not required to produce or
provide access to any documents or information that is the
subject of the objection or request.
(2)
If such an inspection, audit, or examination is part of a
contested case proceeding, the commission shall address
objections to information sought by the regulatory staff in the
same manner in which it addresses objections to discovery issued
by the parties to the contested case proceeding.
(C) Any public utility
or electric cooperative that provides the regulatory
staff with copies of or access to documents or information in
the course of an inspection, audit, or examination that is not
part of a contested case proceeding may designate any such
documents or information as confidential or proprietary if it
believes in good faith that such documents or information would
be entitled to protection from public disclosure under the South
Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure or any provision of South
Carolina or federal law. The regulatory staff may petition the
commission for an order that some or all of the documents so
designated are not entitled to protection from public disclosure
and it shall be incumbent on the utility to prove that such
documents are entitled to protection from public disclosure
under the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure or any
provision of South Carolina or federal law. The commission
shall rule on such petition after providing the regulatory staff
and the utility an opportunity to be heard. Unless the
commission's order on such a petition contains a finding to the
contrary, all documents or information designated as
confidential or proprietary pursuant to this subsection are
exempt from public disclosure under Sections 30-4-10, et seq.
and the regulatory staff shall not disclose such documents and
information, or the contents thereof, to any member of the
commission or to any other person or entity; provided, however,
that, if the commission determines that it is necessary to view
such documents or information in order to rule on such a
petition, it shall order the regulatory staff to file the
documents or information with the commission under seal, and
such documents or information shall not be available for public
inspection during the pendency of the petition.
(D) Nothing in this
section restricts the regulatory staff's ability to serve
discovery in a contested case proceeding that seeks the type of
documents or information the regulatory staff has obtained in
the course of any review, investigation, inspection, audit, or
examination, nor does anything in this section restrict the
ability of any public utility or electric cooperative to
object to such discovery or to seek relief regarding such
discovery, including without limitation, the entry of a
protective order. The regulatory staff shall not be required to
execute a confidentiality agreement or seek a protective order
prior to accessing the public utility's
documents or information of a public utility or electric
cooperative, and such information or documents
shall must be treated as confidential or
proprietary unless or until the commission rules such
information is not entitled to protection from public disclosure
or the public utility or electric cooperative agrees that
such information is no longer confidential or proprietary.
Unless the commission's order contains a finding to the
contrary, all documents or information designated as
confidential or proprietary pursuant to this subsection are
exempt from public disclosure under Section 30-4-10, et seq.,
and the regulatory staff shall not disclose such documents and
information, or the contents thereof, to any member of the
commission or to any other person or entity;
provided,. However, that, if
the commission determines that it is necessary to view such
documents or information, it shall order the regulatory staff to
file the documents or information with the commission under
seal, and such documents or information shall not be available
for public inspection unless otherwise ordered by the
commission.
(E) The Office of
Regulatory Staff, in order to accomplish any of the
responsibilities assigned to it by Chapter 4, Title 58 or any
other provision of law, may apply to the circuit court for
subpoenas to be issued to entities over which the Public Service
Commission does not have jurisdiction. Such subpoenas will be
issued by the circuit court in the same manner as subpoenas are
issued to parties to proceedings before that court, and all
rules applicable to the issuance of such subpoenas, including
enforcement and penalties, shall apply to subpoenas issued at
the request of the regulatory staff.
(F) The
actual expenses of the Office of Regulatory Staff incurred in
carrying out its duties under Section 58-4-50(A)(12)must be
certified annually to the Public Utilities Review Committee in
an itemized statement by the Office of Regulatory Staff, shown
as a line item in the Office of Regulatory Staff budget, to be
assessed directly to an audited electric cooperative by the
Office of Regulatory Staff, and deposited with the state
treasurer to the credit of the Office of Regulatory
Staff."
SECTION 15. Section 58-27-840 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 58-27-840.
(A) No electrical utility,
distribution electric cooperative or
consolidated political subdivision shall, as to rates or
services, make or grant any unreasonable preference or advantage
to any person, corporation, municipality or consolidated
political subdivision to its unreasonable prejudice or
disadvantage. No electrical utility, distribution
electric cooperative or consolidated political
subdivision shall establish or maintain any unreasonable
difference as to rates or service as between localities or as
between classes of service. Subject to the approval of the
Commission, however, electrical utilities, distribution
electric cooperatives and consolidated political
subdivisions may establish classifications of rates and services
and such classifications may take into account the conditions
and circumstances surrounding the service, such as the time when
used, the purpose for which used, the demand upon plant
facilities, the value of the service rendered and any other
reasonable consideration. The Commission may determine any
question of fact arising under this section. The Commission
shall not fix any rates charged by electric cooperatives or
consolidated political subdivisions.
(B) No
distribution electric cooperative shall, as to rates or
services, make or grant any unreasonable preference or advantage
to any person, corporation, municipality or consolidated
political subdivision to its unreasonable prejudice or
disadvantage. No distribution electric cooperative shall
establish or maintain any unreasonable difference as to rates or
service as between localities or as between classes of service.
The Office of Regulatory Staff is granted the authority to
audit, on its own initiative or in response to complaints,
issues arising under this subsection, including the authority to
review and examine whether the distribution electric
cooperatives are maintaining any unreasonable differences as to
rates or service as between localities or as between classes of
service. Rate classifications established by distribution
electric cooperatives may take into account the conditions and
circumstances surrounding the service, such as the time when
used, the purpose for which used, the demand upon plant
facilities, the value of the service rendered, and any other
reasonable consideration. Upon completion of an audit, review,
or examination as provided in this section, the Office of
Regulatory Staff must report its findings to the board of the
distribution electric cooperative and attempt to resolve any
compliance issues identified in the audit.
(C) The
Commission is granted authority to resolve any disputed issues
arising from the audit, review or examination by the Office of
Regulatory Staff of matters arising under subsection (B) of this
section. The Commission shall not fix any rates charged by
electric cooperatives."
SECTION 16. Where the provisions of new or revised 1976 Code sections or subsections contained in this act conflict with provisions of the bylaws of an electric cooperative, the provisions of this act control and the cooperative, as permitted by Section 33-49-280, shall amend and conform its bylaw provisions accordingly.
SECTION 17. The
provisions of this act take effect upon approval by the
Governor, except that:
(1) Sections 1, 2, 3,
13, 14, and 15 take effect January 1, 2020.
(2) Section 7 takes
effect May 1, 2020.
(3) Sections 4, 5, 6,
9, and 11 take effect on the first day of the fifteenth calendar
month after the month of signature by the Governor.
/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.