US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
  § 1410. Boards of trade and chambers of commerce.
    (a)  Definitions.
    (1)    A  board  of trade   is a corporation formed for the purpose of
  fostering trade and commerce, or the interests of those having a  common
  trade,  business,  financial  or professional interest, to reform abuses
  relative thereto, to secure freedom from unjust or  unlawful  exactions,
  to  diffuse  accurate  and  reliable  information  as to the standing of
  merchants and other matters, to procure uniformity and certainty in  the
  customs  and  usages of trade and commerce, and of those having a common
  trade, business, financial  or  professional  interest;  to  settle  and
  adjust  differences between its members and others and to promote a more
  enlarged and friendly intercourse among business people; to advance  the
  civic,   commercial,   industrial  and  agricultural  interests  of  the
  territory where the corporation  is  situate;  to  promote  the  general
  welfare  and  prosperity  of  such  territory  and  to  stimulate public
  sentiment  to  these  ends;  and  to  provide  such  civic,  commercial,
  industrial,  agricultural  and  social  features  as  will promote these
  purposes.
    (2)  A chamber of commerce is a corporation, the members of which  are
  in  diverse lines of business, membership in which is not restricted to,
  nor  in  practice  consists  primarily  of,  persons,  partnerships   or
  corporations   engaged   in   or   carrying   on  the  same,  allied  or
  interdependent lines of business, and which is formed for the purpose of
  fostering trade and commerce, or the interests of those carrying on such
  trade and commerce; to promote the general welfare and prosperity of the
  state, territory or community in which such corporation is  situate;  to
  reform  abuses  involving business, professional or financial interests,
  to secure freedom from unjust or unlawful exactions, to diffuse accurate
  and reliable information as to  the  standing  of  merchants  and  other
  matters,  to  procure uniformity and certainty in the customs and usages
  of trade and commerce; to settle  and  adjust  differences  between  its
  members  and  others,  and  to  promote  a  more  enlarged  and friendly
  intercourse  among  businessmen;  to  advance  the  civic,   commercial,
  industrial  and  agricultural  interests  of  the  territory  where  the
  corporation is situate; to provide such features as will  promote  these
  purposes,   and  to  stimulate  public  sentiment  to  these  ends.    A
  corporation formed before the first day  of  January,  eighteen  hundred
  seventy-five,  the  purposes  and  activities  of  which  are those of a
  chamber of commerce as herein defined, shall be a  chamber  of  commerce
  regardless of its name, and shall not be required to change its existing
  name by reason of this subparagraph.
    (b)  Type of corporation.
    A  board  of  trade  or  a chamber of commerce is a Type A corporation
  under this chapter.
    (c)  Special powers.
    (1)  A board of trade or a  chamber  of  commerce  organized  for  the
  purposes  set  forth  in  paragraph  (a),  shall  have  the  power to be
  appointed and to act under the order or  appointment  of  any  court  of
  competent  jurisdiction as receiver or trustee of the property or estate
  of any person or corporation in insolvency and  bankruptcy  proceedings,
  and  to  act  as assignee or trustee for the benefit of creditors in any
  case in which a member or members of such board of trade or a chamber of
  commerce are creditors of such insolvent or bankrupt estate; or of  such
  assignor  for  the  benefit of creditors; or in any other instance where
  the purposes of the corporation might reasonably be involved.
    (2)   A board of trade  or  chamber  of  commerce  organized  for  the
  purposes  set  forth  in  paragraph  (a)  may make loans to its members,
  directors or officers, or to any other corporation, firm, association or
  other entity in which one or more of its members, directors or  officers
  are  directors  or  officers  or  hold a financial interest, in any case
  where its board of directors finds that the making of such loan will  be
  in  furtherance  of  its  corporate  purposes and for a lawful public or
  quasi-public objective.
    (3)   A board of  trade  organized  for  the  purposes  set  forth  in
  paragraph (a) of this section may make distributions of cash or property
  to, or confer other benefits upon, its members, or former members, prior
  to  dissolution  or  final  liquidation  in  any case where the board of
  directors of such corporation finds that such cash,  property  or  other
  benefit  is  not  required  for  the  conduct of its corporate purposes;
  provided,  however,  that  no  such  action  shall  be  taken  when  the
  corporation is currently insolvent or would thereby be made insolvent or
  rendered  unable  to  carry  on its corporate purposes, or when the fair
  value of the corporation's assets remaining after  the  taking  of  such
  action would be insufficient to meet its liabilities.
    (4)    A  board  of  trade  organized  for  the  purposes set forth in
  paragraph (a)  of  this  section  may  provide  in  its  certificate  of
  incorporation or by-laws that the members or any class of members shall,
  with  respect  to  any  matter  on  which  the members of such class are
  entitled to vote, have more than, or less than, one vote.