Source: https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/HTML/H2178v3.html
Timestamp: 2019-08-24 22:30:53
Document Index: 189247584

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 55', '§ 55', 'art 7', '§ 55', '§ 55', '§ 55', '§ 55', '§ 55']

SL2008-0037
SESSION LAW 2008-37
AN ACT to authorize nonprofit corporations to allow certain votes by electronic transmission, as recommended by the general statutes commission.
SECTION 1. G.S. 55A-1-40 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55A-1-40. Chapter definitions.
(9) "Effective date of notice" is defined in G.S. 55A-1-41.
(9a) 'Electronic' has the same meaning as in G.S. 66-312.
(9b) 'Electronic record' has the same meaning as in G.S. 66-312.
(9c) 'Electronic signature' has the same meaning as in G.S. 66-312.
(10) "Entity" includes:
a. Any domestic or foreign:
1. Corporation; business corporation; professional corporation;
3. Profit and nonprofit unincorporated association, chapter or other organizational unit; and
4. Business trust, estate, partnership, trust;
b. Two or more persons having a joint or common economic interest; and
c. The United States, and any state and foreign government.
(26) "Vote" includes authorization by written ballot and written consent. consent, including electronic ballot and electronic consent."
SECTION 2. G.S. 55A-1-41 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55A-1-41. Notice.
(b) Notice may be communicated in person; by telephone, telegraph, teletype, or other form of wire or wireless communication, or by facsimile transmission; electronic means; or by mail or private carrier. If these forms of personal notice are impracticable as to one or more persons, notice may be communicated to such persons by publishing notice in a newspaper, or by radio, television, or other form of public broadcast communication, in the county where the corporation has its principal place of business in the State, or if it has no principal place of business in the State, the county where it has its registered office.
(i) Written notice need not be provided in a separate document and may be included as part of a newsletter, magazine, or other publication regularly sent to members if conspicuously identified as a notice."
SECTION 3. Article 1 of Chapter 55A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 7. Miscellaneous.
"§ 55A-1-70. Electronic transactions.
For purposes of applying Article 40 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes to transactions under this Chapter, a corporation may agree to conduct a transaction by electronic means through provision in its articles of incorporation or bylaws or by action of its board of directors."
SECTION 4. G.S. 55A-7-04 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55A-7-04. Action by written consent.
(a) Action required or permitted by this Chapter to be taken at a meeting of members may be taken without a meeting if the action is taken by all members entitled to vote on the action. The action shall be evidenced by one or more written consents describing the action taken, signed before or after such action by all members entitled to vote thereon, and delivered to the corporation for inclusion in the minutes or filing with the corporate records. To the extent the corporation has agreed pursuant to G.S. 55A-1-70, a member's consent to action taken without a meeting may be in electronic form and delivered by electronic means.
(b) If not otherwise determined under G.S. 55A-7-03 or G.S. 55A-7-07, the record date for determining members entitled to take action without a meeting is the date the first member signs the consent under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) A consent signed under this section has the effect of a meeting vote and may be described as such in any document."
SECTION 5. G.S. 55A-7-08 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55A-7-08. Action by written ballot.
(a) Unless prohibited or limited by the articles of incorporation or bylaws and without regard to the requirements of G.S. 55A-7-04, any action that may be taken at any annual, regular, or special meeting of members may be taken without a meeting if the corporation delivers a written ballot to every member entitled to vote on the matter. Any requirement that any vote of the members be made by written ballot may be satisfied by a ballot submitted by electronic transmission, including electronic mail, provided that such electronic transmission shall either set forth or be submitted with information from which it can be determined that the electronic transmission was authorized by the member or the member's proxy.
(1) Set forth each proposed action; and
(c) Approval by written ballot pursuant to this section shall be valid only when the number of votes cast by ballot equals or exceeds the quorum required to be present at a meeting authorizing the action, and the number of approvals equals or exceeds the number of votes that would be required to approve the matter at a meeting at which the same total number of votes were cast.
(d) All solicitations for votes by written ballot shall indicate the time by which a ballot shall be received by the corporation in order to be counted.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, a written ballot shall not be revoked."
SECTION 6. G.S. 55A-7-24 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55A-7-24. Proxies.
(a) Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws prohibit or limit proxy voting, a member may vote in person or by proxy. A member may appoint one or more proxies to vote or otherwise act for him the member by signing an appointment form, either personally or by his the member's attorney-in-fact. A photocopy, telegram, cablegram, facsimile transmission, or equivalent reproduction of a writing appointing one or more proxies, Without limiting G.S. 55A-1-70, an appointment in the form of an electronic record that bears the member's electronic signature and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by an automated process shall be deemed a valid appointment form within the meaning of this section. In addition, if and to the extent permitted by the nonprofit corporation, a member may appoint one or more proxies (i) by an electronic mail message or other form of electronic, wire, or wireless communication that provides a written statement appearing to have been sent by the member, or (ii) by any kind of electronic or telephonic transmission, even if not accompanied by written communication, under circumstances or together with information from which the nonprofit corporation can reasonably assume that the appointment was made or authorized by the member.
(b) An appointment of a proxy is effective when received by the secretary or other officer or agent authorized to tabulate votes. An appointment is valid for 11 months unless a different period is expressly provided in the appointment form.
(c) An appointment of a proxy is revocable by the member unless the appointment form conspicuously states that it is irrevocable and the appointment is coupled with an interest. An appointment made irrevocable under this subsection shall be revocable when the interest with which it is coupled is extinguished. A transferee for value of an interest subject to an irrevocable appointment may revoke the appointment if he did not have actual knowledge of its irrevocability.
(e) A revocable appointment of a proxy is revoked by the person appointing the proxy:
(f) Subject to G.S. 55A-7-27 and to any express limitation on the proxy's authority appearing on the face of the appointment form, a corporation is entitled to accept the proxy's vote or other action as that of the member making the appointment."
SECTION 7. G.S. 55A-8-21 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55A-8-21. Action without meeting.
SECTION 8. This act becomes effective October 1, 2008.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 26th day of June, 2008.
Approved 12:03 p.m. this 1st day of July, 2008