Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1901-04-03
CHAPTER s47.
AN act relating to Fraasrnal Beneficiary Or.

CAAElEA S6fs
AN ACT relating to Fratsrnai Beneficiary Or
5sctioa i. fraternai beneficiary associa.
tlon Is hereby defned to be any corporation.
society or voluntary association, formed or
organized and carried on for tho sole benefit
OF its members and their beneficiaries, and not
for profit. Each association shall have
lodge system, with ritualstic form Of work and
representative form Of government. and shall
case OF death, and may make provision for the
payment of benefits In the case of sicltness,
temporary. or permanent physicai disability:
either ms the result of disease, accident or old
age, provided the period In lite at which pay.
ment of physical disability benefits on account
of old age Commences, shall not DO under sev.
constitution and laws. The fund from which
the payment OF such benefits shali be made,
81 sha Se
from assessments or dues collected from its
members. Payments OF death benefits shall be
to the families, heirs, blood relatives, adopted
children, adopting parents, afdanced husband
OF af1anced wife OF, or to persons dependent
upon the member. Such associations shall be
The provisions Of insurance laws Of this state,
except as herein provided and no law here
after passed shall apply to them unless they be
ternal beneficiary association may create,
maintain, disburse aud apply reserve or
emergency fund III accordance with its consti.
Section 4. Seven or more persons, resident
of the state, desiring to form fraternal bene-
ficiary. corporation for the purposes above
provided, and having signed an agreement
therefor, declaring therein tho purposes OF
such corporation, may organize as such Ia the
Of N q e
ates, and such corporation shall have all the
powers, privileges and immunites. and be
subject to all the liabilities named In said sec
Section .. The president, secretary, and a
majority OF the directors, or other officers cor
I ~x-st
sign and swear to certificate setting forth
i true copy OF the agreement and declaration
| of the purposes OF the association, with the
names of the subscribers thereto, the date OF
| the first meeting, and the successive adjourn
ncnts, If any. and shall submit such certificate
and the records Of the corporation to the in,
surance commissioners, who, upon payment OF
| n fee of Ave dollars, shall make such examina-
ton and require such evidence MS he deems
Of he c5rporaton Conform to law, he shall shai
| certify his approval thereof, and the certin
4 cate shall then be filed by said officer in thu
/ office of the secretary of state, who, upon pay
ment of fee of five dollars, shall cause tho
same with the endorsements, to be recorded
and shall thereupon issue certificate In The
following form:
| STATE OF MAINE.
BE 1t known>that whereas Qhere the name
of the subscribers to the agreement of the as
ISOLATION shall be inserted), have aesoci
ated themselves with the Intention of forming
a corporation under the name of (hcre the
the purpose (here fi,e purpose declared IN the
tagreement of association shall be fnserfed),
q mp ss ss
provided. rs appears from the certificate OF
b no the insurance co,amssionsr and recorded
in this office, now, therefore, (here the naint
. of the secretary shall be insertedl secretary o
h the state Of Maine do hereby certify that safe
Z there the names of the subscribers to tn,
! agreement of association shall be inserted)
) their associates and Successors are legally or
-snts1 nh. l.ar
made an existing corporation under the naYnt
"a of (hefe the name of the corporation shall bt
8 insertod), with the powers, rights and privi
n leges, and subject TO the Limitations, dutfel
d aud restrictions which by law appertain there
Ito. Witness my official signature hereunto
9 subscribed, and the seal of the state of Maine
e Of .I. =. in the year lin these blanks
S the day, month and the year OF execution OF
tho certificate shall be inserted). The secre-
| tary shall sign the same and cause the seal of
the state TO be thereto affixed, and such certi
] ficate shall be conclusive evidence of the ex-
istcnce of snch corporation at the date of such
. | certificate. He shall cause record of such
certificate to be made and certified copy or
such record may be given IN evidence, with
like effect as the original certificate.
i Section A. No charter granted under the pro-
visions Of this act shall be valid after year
completed and business begun hereunder. and
4 when any domestic corporation has dscontin-
ned business for the period Of ono year its
charter shall become null and void
Section s. Any fraternal beneficiary corpo-
ration existing under the laws of this state.
and now engaged in transaoting business
herein, may relncorporafe under the provisions
of this act; provided, that nothing in this act
| contained shall be construed as requiring any
such corporation to reincorporate; and any
such corporation may continue to exercise all
| the rights, powers and privileges conferred
by this act, and its articles of Incorporation |
not inconsistent herewith, and shall he subject
/ to the requirements aud penalties Of this act |
| the same as II reincorporated hereunder
Section g.. No association hereafter organ |
| lied under the provisions of this act shall in |
cur any liability or issue any benefit certia- |
cate until It has received from the insurance
commissioner certificate TO the effect that |
| It has compiled with the requirements Of law
and is duly authorized TO transact business in |
| this state. Before such certificate is granted
the association must present satisfactory eva.
dence to the insurance commissioner that 1t
has established mortnary assessment rates
which are not lower than those now indicated
as necessary by the national fraternal con
gress mortality tables and that at least i've
| hundred persons have each paid one advance
| mortuary assessment on the rates so estab-
\ lished and become bona Tide member OF
local branch of the association, and thai IL has
deposited with the state treasurer at least one
| thousand dollars as part OF its emergency or
reserve fund for the benefit and protection OF
certificate holders In said association, which
fund shall be held and used as hereinafter
| provided.
organized under the provisions OF this act
| shall on on before the thirty first day of De-
cember in each year deposit with the state
| treasurer 10 tut cItutt u i6enCJ oA ~
serve fund not less than fifteen per cent of its
| total mortuary receipts for the year then end
| ing until the amount so deposited amounts to
not less than fifty thousand dollars. These
amounts shail be deposited in such interest
bearing securities as any Insurance company
or savings bank may from time to time by law
invest its funds and the securities shall be held
in trust 10y the state treasurer, but the associa-
ton shall have at all times the right to e1-
change any part Of said securities for others
, of like amount and character, and the income
1 from said fund shall be paid by said treasurer
to the association. When deemed advisable
| by the majority of the directors, or other on
GERS corresponding thereto, such part OF the
| fund as may be considered necessary, may
with the writtcn approval of the insurance
commissioner, be applied from time to time TO
| the payment OF death benefits but for no other
purpose provided, however, that such fund
shall not at any time DO reduced below an
amount equal 70 one assessment or periodical
! call upon all of it's members, nor to less than
one thousand dollars. The insurance commits
| sioner shall annually, In February. certify to
| the treasurer of state, the minimum amount OF
reserve fund required to be kept on deposit
1 in the Treasury By each association doing bust.
ness undnr this act. If said association shall
neglect for sixty days TO satisfy any Judgment