2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 7 - Corporations and Associations
Associations
Article 56 - Cooperatives
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 7-56-103. Definitions

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Agricultural cooperative" means a cooperative in which the members, including landlords and tenants, are all producers of agricultural products.

(2) "Agricultural products" means agronomic, horticultural, viticultural, aquacultural, forestry, dairy, livestock, poultry, bee, and any other farm or ranch products.

(3) "Articles" means the articles of incorporation of a cooperative and includes amended articles of incorporation, restated articles of incorporation, and other organizational documents of other entities.

(4) "Board" or "board of directors" means the board of directors or other governing body of a cooperative or other entity.

(5) "Bylaws" means the bylaws adopted by a cooperative and includes amended bylaws and restated bylaws.

(6) "Cooperative" means any entity formed under or subject to this article by election or otherwise, including a cooperative formed under comparable law of another jurisdiction doing business in this state, and having the following characteristics:

(a) The business of the cooperative is operated at cost by adjusting the prices charged for goods or services or by returning any net margins at the end of a fiscal year on a patronage basis to members and other persons qualified to share in the net margins pursuant to the articles or bylaws;

(b) Dividends on stock or interest on equity capital is limited, as prescribed in the articles pursuant to section 7-56-201 or bylaws pursuant to section 7-56-208 of the cooperative;

(c) Voting rights are limited to members of the cooperative as prescribed in the articles or bylaws of the cooperative;

(d) The cooperative's business is carried on for the mutual benefit of its members; and

(e) Members are not liable for any debt, obligation, or liability of the cooperative.

(7) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 2219, § 67, effective July 1, 2004.)

(8) "Domestic", when referring to a cooperative or other entity, means an entity formed under the law of this state.

(9) "Equity capital" means all investments in the cooperative except loans or other types of indebtedness, whether made by direct investment, such as investment in stock or memberships, or by retention of amounts of net savings, net margins, or net profits allocated to members and other patrons of the cooperative, or charged to them as part of the transactions between them and the cooperative.

(10) "Foreign", when referring to a cooperative or other entity, means an entity formed under law other than the law of this state.

(11) "Member" means a person who has been received into the membership of a cooperative without common stock or a person who has acquired common stock in a cooperative formed with common stock and, in either case, is authorized to vote. This subsection (11) shall not preclude a cooperative from designating persons as both members and stockholders.

(12) "Net margins" means the receipts from operations less the expenses thereof.

(13) "Patron" means a person who may, but need not, be a member of a cooperative who utilizes the services of the cooperative through the purchase or sale of property or services to or from the cooperative.

(14) "Patronage" means the volume or dollar value of business transacted with the cooperative.

(15) "Patronage refund" means a portion of a cooperative's net margins paid or allocated to a patron based on the patron's patronage.

(16) "Per unit retain" means a deduction authorized by a patron to be made by the cooperative from proceeds of sale of a product or service by the patron to the cooperative or by the cooperative on behalf of the patron where the deduction is based on the value or quantity of the product or service sold to the cooperative or on behalf of the patron and is deducted as a contribution or investment by the patron in the capital of the cooperative.

(17) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 2219, § 67, effective July 1, 2004.)