§ 3031. Mortgage and investment
(a) The board of directors of a cooperative shall have full power and authority, without
authorization by the members, to authorize the execution and delivery of a mortgage
or mortgages or a deed or deeds of trust of, or the pledging or encumbering of, any
or all of the property, assets, rights, privileges, licenses, franchises, and permits
of the cooperative, whether acquired or to be acquired, and wherever situated, as
well as the revenues and income, all upon such terms and conditions as the board of
directors shall determine, to secure indebtedness of the cooperative in the ordinary
course of the cooperative’s electric business.
(b) The board of directors of a cooperative shall have full power and authority, with
the approval of two-thirds of the members of the cooperative voting on such authorization,
to authorize the execution and delivery of a mortgage or mortgages or a deed of trust
of, or the pledging or encumbering of, any or all of the property, assets, rights,
privileges, licenses, franchises, and permits of the cooperative, whether acquired
or to be acquired, and wherever situated, as well as the revenues and income, upon
terms and conditions as the board of directors shall determine, to secure indebtedness
of the cooperative for purposes authorized by statute other than operation of the
cooperative’s electric business.
(c) No more than 50 percent of the member equity of an electric cooperative subject to
the provisions of this chapter may be used to invest in all business activities authorized
by statute, other than electric business activities. Each individual investment by
the electric cooperative in a business activity authorized by statute, other than
electric, exceeding three percent of the members’ equity, may be made only with approval
of two-thirds of the members voting on such proposal.
(d) Business activities authorized by statute, other than electric, shall be geographically
limited to any county in which the cooperative has authority to sell energy or other
services furnished by the cooperative when they are made available through its electric
distribution facilities, or any county in which an authorized business is presently
serving. (Amended 1969, No. 192 (Adj. Sess.), eff. March 12, 1970; 1999, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 21; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 427, eff. July 1, 2024.)