2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART III - Other Financial Institutions (§§ 551 — 1390) › Chapter 86 - Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations Act of 2002 (§§ 1361 — 1371b) › Subchapter III - Organization of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (§§ 1363 — 1363e) › § 1363c - General regulations

The general regulations of every cooperative, pursuant to the cooperative principles and characteristics, shall provide the following, without it being construed as a limitation:
(a) How to convene and hold regular and special assemblies of members.
(b) How to vote and the conditions under which the members may vote in regular and special, general, or district assemblies, according to the cooperative principle of “one person, one vote”.
(c) In the event it is organized by districts, the basis for the creation and modification of the districts by the Board of Directors.
(d) The number, qualifications, powers, authority, obligations and terms of office of the directors and other members of the governing boards.
(e) The date, place, and form of constituting the board, and convoking and holding meetings of the directors and the executive committee. Provided, That every government instrumentality including departments, agencies, and public corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall grant working hours to the members of the boards of directors of the cooperatives organized in said government entities, in order to render an essential service to its employees to attend to their business. The Secretary of the Board of Directors shall certify the names of the employees who are members of the cooperative to the government instrumentality concerned, the meeting days, and their attendance [at] the respective meetings. The time granted to the employees who are members of the Board of Directors of the cooperative to hold their meetings, shall be at least one (1) hour a week for the members of the credit committee, and three (3) hours a month to the members of the Board of Directors, the supervision committee and the education committee.
(f) The reasons or instances whereby the Board may remove a member of the cooperative, and the procedure to appeal the decisions of the Board removing a member of the cooperative, including the appeal before the general assembly of members or delegates, as the case may be.
(g) The causes and the procedure for the dismissal, resignation or substitution of a director or official.
(h) The status as a member; the requirements preceding membership, the manner to determine and pay the member’s interest in the cooperative upon his/her death, retirement, separation or other circumstance that causes him/her to cease as a member; the conditions, and dates on which any member shall cease to be a member; and the form and effect of the suspension and expulsion of a member.
(i) The conditions or terms to make withdrawals and transfers of contributions or shares.
(j) The functions and duties that may be delegated to an executive official of the cooperative.
(k) The manner that the net savings of the cooperative may be distributed to the members.
(l) The penalties for infractions of the bylaws, and the procedure to file complaints.
(m) The norms on cooperative integration.
(n) The staggered system for the election of Board members, as well as the system for the selection of the committees to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(o) The functions and duties that the members can delegate to the Board of the cooperative.
(p) The application of alternate methods for the solution of disputes according to the ruled adopted by the Corporation.
(q) The authorization of the Board of Directors to issue preferred stock as allowed by this chapter.
History —Oct. 28, 2002, No. 255, § 3.04.