reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
AL Code § 37-6-19 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-19 - Filing of Articles.

Section 37-6-19Filing of articles. Articles of incorporation, amendment, consolidation, merger, conversion or dissolution, as the case may be, when executed and acknowledged and accompanied by such affidavits as may be required by applicable provisions of this chapter, shall be presented to the Secretary of State for filing in the records of his office. If the Secretary of State shall find that the articles presented conform to the requirements of this chapter, he shall, upon the payment of the fees, file the articles so presented in the records of his office, and, upon such filing, the incorporation, amendment, consolidation, merger, conversion or dissolution provided for therein shall be in effect. The Secretary of State immediately upon the filing in his office of any articles pursuant to this chapter shall transmit a certified copy thereof to the probate judge of the county in which the principal office of each cooperative or corporation affected by such incorporation, amendment, consolidation, merger, conversion or dissolution shall be located. The probate judge of any county, upon receipt of any such certified copy, shall file and index the same in the records of his office, but the failure of the Secretary of State or of a probate judge of a county to comply with the provisions of this section shall not invalidate such articles. The provisions of this section shall also apply to certificates of election to dissolve and affidavits of compliance executed pursuant to subsection (b) (2) of Section 37-6-18. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §49.)
AL Code § 37-6-20 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-20 - Disposition of Excess Revenues.

Section 37-6-20Disposition of excess revenues. Revenues of a cooperative for any fiscal year in excess of the amount thereof necessary to defray expenses of the cooperative and of the operation and maintenance of its facilities during such fiscal year; to pay interest and principal obligations of the cooperative coming due in such fiscal year; to finance or to provide a reserve for the financing of, the construction or acquisition by the cooperative of additional facilities to the extent determined by the board of trustees; to provide a reasonable reserve for working capital; to provide a reserve for the payment of indebtedness of the cooperative maturing more than one year after the date of the incurrence of such indebtedness in an amount not less than the total of the interest and principal payments in respect thereof required to be made during the next following fiscal year; and to provide a fund for education in cooperation and for the dissemination of information concerning the effective use of electric energy and other services made available by the cooperative shall be distributed by the cooperative to its members as, and in the manner, provided in the bylaws, either as patronage refunds prorated in accordance with the patronage of the cooperative by the respective members paid for during such fiscal year or by way of general rate reductions, or by combination of such methods. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to prohibit the payment by a cooperative of all or any part of its indebtedness prior to the date when the same shall become due. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §50.)
AL Code § 37-6-22 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-22 - Nonliability of Members for Debts of Cooperative.

Section 37-6-22Nonliability of members for debts of cooperative. The private property of the members of a cooperative shall be exempt from execution for the debts of the cooperative, and no member shall be liable or responsible for any debts of the cooperative. A cooperative shall not be liable to its members for any outage of service or voltage fluctuation resulting from acts of God, such as lightning or windstorm, or from occurrences that may reasonably be expected to happen in the normal course of utility business, such as equipment failures. In any claim for property damage alleging negligence of the cooperative, the member shall prove by the testimony of a witness expert in the operation of utility businesses that the action or inaction of the cooperative alleged to have caused the property damage is not normal in the operations of a utility business. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §52; Acts 1992, No. 92-206, §1.)
AL Code § 37-6-23 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-23 - Liens.

Section 37-6-23Liens. Any mortgage, deed of trust or other instrument executed by a cooperative or foreign corporation transacting business in this state pursuant to this chapter, which, by its terms, creates a lien upon real and personal property then owned or after acquired and which is recorded as a mortgage of real property in any county in which such property is located or is to be located, shall have the same force and effect as if the mortgage, deed of trust or other instrument were also recorded or filed in the proper office in such county as a mortgage of personal property. Recordation of any such mortgage, deed of trust or other instrument shall cause the lien thereof to attach to all after acquired property of the mortgagor of the nature therein described as being mortgaged or pledged thereby, immediately upon the acquisition of such property by the mortgagor, and such lien shall be superior to all claims of creditors of the mortgagor and purchasers of such property and to all other liens, except liens of prior record and tax liens affecting such property. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §53.)
AL Code § 37-6-24 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-24 - Waiver of Notice.

Section 37-6-24Waiver of notice. Whenever any notice is required to be given under the provisions of this chapter or under the provisions of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of a cooperative, waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to such notice, whether before or after the time fixed for the giving of such notice, shall be deemed equivalent to such notice. If a person or persons entitled to notice of a meeting shall attend such meeting, such attendance shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting, except in case the attendance is for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting shall not have been lawfully called or convened. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §54.)
AL Code § 37-6-25 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-25 - Acknowledgment of Instruments.

Section 37-6-25Acknowledgment of instruments. No person who is authorized to take acknowledgments under the laws of this state shall be disqualified from taking acknowledgments of instruments executed in favor of a cooperative or to which it is a party, by reason of being an officer, director or member of such cooperative. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §55.)
AL Code § 37-6-26 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-26 - Foreign Corporations.

Section 37-6-26Foreign corporations. Any corporation or association organized under generally similar laws of another state shall be allowed to carry on any proper activities, operations and functions in this state upon compliance with the general regulations applicable to foreign corporations desiring to do business in this state. In its activities, operations and functions in this state, such corporation or association shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §56.)
AL Code § 37-6-28 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-28 - Bonds or Other Indebtedness - Consent of Department of Finance.

Section 37-6-28Bonds or other indebtedness - Consent of department of finance. No bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of any cooperative or foreign corporation transacting business in this state pursuant to this chapter shall be issued or sold until the consent to the issuance and sale thereof shall have been given by the Department of Finance, as provided by law. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §58.)
AL Code § 37-6-27 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-27 - Exemption From Jurisdiction of Public Service Commission.

Section 37-6-27Exemption from jurisdiction of public service commission. Cooperatives transacting business in this state pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed to be general welfare cooperatives and exempt in all respects from the jurisdiction and control of the Public Service Commission of this state. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §57.)
AL Code § 37-6-30 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-30 - Terminating or Declining Service Because of Indebtedness to Cooperative; When Account in Dispute.

Section 37-6-30Terminating or declining service because of indebtedness to cooperative; when account in dispute. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein: (1) RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE. A cooperative corporation formed under Chapter 6 or Chapter 7 of Title 37, or any successor provision of the Code of Alabama, or any of its subsidiaries. (2) GAS DISTRICT. A public corporation formed under Article 12 of Chapter 50 of Title 11, or any successor provision of the Code of Alabama. (b) Any rural electric cooperative or gas district may terminate or decline service at all locations if an applicant or customer, or a member of the applicant's or customer's household, is indebted to the rural electric cooperative or gas district for services at the present location or a former location of the applicant or customer. This section shall not apply if a person was not a member of the household of the applicant or customer, or if a person was a minor when the indebtedness was incurred. In the event that such indebtedness for service previously rendered is in dispute, the applicant shall be served or the customer's service shall be continued upon complying with the normal deposit requirements of the rural electric cooperative or gas district and, in addition thereto, by making a special deposit in an amount equal to the net balance in dispute. Upon settlement of the disputed account, the balance, if any, due the applicant or customer or member of applicant's or customer's household shall be promptly repaid. (Acts 1987, No. 87-743, p. 1455, §§1, 2; Acts 1992, No. 92-206, §1.)
AL Code § 37-6-29 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-6-29 - Bonds or Other Indebtedness - Exemption From Provisions of Securities Law.

Section 37-6-29Bonds or other indebtedness - Exemption from provisions of securities law. The provisions of the Alabama Securities Law shall not apply to any note, bond or other evidence of indebtedness issued by any cooperative transacting business in this state pursuant to this chapter to the United States of America, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or to any mortgage or deed of trust executed to secure the same. The provisions of said securities law shall not apply to the issuance of membership certificates by any cooperative. (Acts 1939, No. 231, p. 371; Code 1940, T. 18, §59.)
AL Code § 37-6-40 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-40 - Definitions.

Section 37-6-40Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) RURAL AREA. Any area within this state not included within the boundaries of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, village, or borough having a population in excess of 25,000 inhabitants according to the last preceding federal census, prior to the time service was commenced. For purposes of providing wireless communications services, including, without limitation, services classified as of January 1, 1997, as "commercial mobile radio services" by the FCC, the term "rural area" shall include all of the territory for which the electric cooperative is authorized to provide wireless service under federal law or regulations. (2) TELEPHONE SERVICE. Any communication service, including, without limitation, all telephone lines, facilities, or systems used in the rendition of such service. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §1; Acts 1951, No. 613, p. 1057, §1; Acts 1990, No. 90-174, p. 193, §1; Act 98-602, p. 1318, §1.)
AL Code § 37-6-41 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-41 - Electric Cooperatives Empowered to Furnish Telephone Service.

Section 37-6-41Electric cooperatives empowered to furnish telephone service. Any electric cooperative presently or hereafter organized and any corporation converted into an electric cooperative under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter shall have, in addition to its present or other powers, the power to furnish telephone service in rural areas to its members and the persons it serves, in the manner provided in this article. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §2; Acts 1951, No. 613, p. 1057, §1.)
AL Code § 37-6-43 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-43 - Name of Cooperative Furnishing Service.

Section 37-6-43Name of cooperative furnishing service. The name of an electric cooperative which engages in the furnishing of telephone service may include the word "telephone" and need not include the word "electric" if it is not engaged in the furnishing of electrical energy. The words "telephone" and "cooperative" shall not both be used in the name of any corporation hereafter organized under the laws of, or authorized to transact business in, this state, except a cooperative or corporation transacting business in this state pursuant to the provisions of this article. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §4; Acts 1951, No. 613, p. 1057, §1.)
AL Code § 37-6-44 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-44 - Cooperatives Possess Same Powers in Connection With Telephone Service as With Electricity.

Section 37-6-44Cooperatives possess same powers in connection with telephone service as with electricity. Except as otherwise provided in this article, electric cooperatives shall possess and exercise all powers in connection with the construction, acquisition and operation of telephone systems and in connection with furnishing telephone service as they now possess in connection with making electrical energy available to their members and other persons. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §5.)
AL Code § 37-6-45 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-45 - Cooperatives Authorized to Supply Electrical Energy or Telephone Service or Both.

Section 37-6-45Cooperatives authorized to supply electrical energy or telephone service or both. Electric cooperatives are authorized to supply to their members and other persons they are authorized to serve only electrical energy or only telephone service, or both. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §6.)
AL Code § 37-6-46 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-46 - Power to Furnish Telephone Service Exclusive.

Section 37-6-46Power to furnish telephone service exclusive. The power to furnish telephone service conferred in this article on electric cooperatives is exclusive, and no other nonprofit membership corporation or organization, including improvement authorities organized under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, shall furnish such service. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §7.)
AL Code § 37-6-47 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-47 - Duty of Public Service Commission to Encourage Improvement and Expansion of Facilities.

Section 37-6-47Duty of public service commission to encourage improvement and expansion of facilities. It shall be the duty of the Alabama Public Service Commission to encourage the improvement and expansion of existing rural telephone facilities and the construction and operation of such additional facilities as are required to assure availability of adequate rural telephone service to the widest practicable number of rural users of such service, and to such ends the commission shall confer and advise with, and keep its official records open to inspection by, any interested person. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §8.)
AL Code § 37-6-48 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-48 - Additional Compensation for Members of Commission.

Section 37-6-48Additional compensation for members of commission. For the extra, new and additional duties imposed upon the Alabama Public Service Commission and the members thereof by this article and for the performance of duties which are and will be hereafter required of said commission and the members thereof under this article, each member of the commission, in addition to the compensation otherwise provided by law to be paid to him for his service as a member of the commission, shall receive $1,800.00 annually, which shall be paid semimonthly, as the salaries of other state officers are paid, out of the appropriation provided by law for payment of salaries and expenses of the commission and its employees. (Acts 1949, No. 339, p. 509, §9.)
AL Code § 37-6-49 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 6 - Electric Cooperatives.|Article 2 - Rural Telephone Service.|Section 37-6-49 - Vesting of Certain Powers; Validation of Acts Relating to Organization.

Section 37-6-49Vesting of certain powers; validation of acts relating to organization. Any cooperative organized under the provisions of this chapter prior to September 4, 1951, for the sole purpose of furnishing telephone service is hereby vested with all the powers and authority conferred on cooperatives by Sections 37-6-40 through 37-6-48. No cooperative shall have the right to furnish telephone service in any area or territory in which any cooperative organized prior to September 4, 1951, is authorized to furnish such service under the provisions of Sections 37-6-40 through 37-6-48. The organization of any cooperative created prior to September 4, 1951, for the sole purpose of furnishing telephone service is hereby ratified, validated and confirmed, and any irregularity in the organization of any such cooperative shall be deemed to be perfected. (Acts 1951, No. 613, p. 1057, §2.)
AL Code § 37-8-1 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 8 - Penal Provisions.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-8-1 - Violation of Commission Orders Generally.

Section 37-8-1Violation of commission orders generally. (a) Any utility doing business in this state or any of its authorized agents, officers or employees who knowingly or willfully violate or procure, aid or abet a violation of any lawful order or decree of said commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each offense. In the case of a violation of said commission's orders or decrees, each day's violation shall be deemed to be a separate offense. (b) Every officer, agent or employee of any common carrier or corporation who shall violate or who procures, aids or abets any violation of, or who shall fail to obey, observe or comply with any order of the public service commission or any provisions of any order of the commission, or who procures, aids or abets any such common carrier or corporation in its failure to obey, observe and comply with any such order or provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined a sum not exceeding $500.00 for each offense, to be fixed by the court or judge trying the case. (Acts 1907, Ex. Sess., No. 17, p. 29; Acts 1920, No. 37, p. 38; Code 1923, §§5392, 5399; Acts 1932, Ex. Sess., No. 201, p. 209; Code 1940, T. 48, §§399, 405.)
AL Code § 37-8-2 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 8 - Penal Provisions.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-8-2 - Venue for Violations of Commission Rules or Orders or Statutes Relating to Commission.

Section 37-8-2Venue for violations of commission rules or orders or statutes relating to commission. Any officer, agent or employee shall be subject to indictment or prosecution in any county in which a subordinate agent or employee of a common carrier violates any of the provisions of this Code relating to the Public Service Commission, or any rule or order of the commission by the direction or in consequence of the direction of such officer, agent or employee. (Acts 1907, Ex. Sess., No. 17, p. 29; Code 1923, §5400; Code 1940, T. 48, §406.)
AL Code § 37-8-3 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 37 - Public Utilities and Public Transportation.|Chapter 8 - Penal Provisions.|Article 1 - General Provisions.|Section 37-8-3 - Compelling Testimony of Employees Who Violate Code.

Section 37-8-3Compelling testimony of employees who violate Code. The agent or employee who locally, in any county, violates any of the provisions of this Code relating to the Public Service Commission or any of the rules or orders of the commission, in pursuance of the direction or authority of his superior officer or agent of the common carrier, may be called as a witness and be compelled to testify, showing the authority by which he acted, and such testimony shall not be used against him, nor shall he thereafter be subject to indictment for said offense. (Acts 1920, No. 37, p. 38; Acts 1923, No. 82, p. 62; Code 1923, §5401; Code 1940, T. 48, §408.)