SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1862        FILED ON: 1/20/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 993

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Julian Cyr

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act supporting the establishment of employee cooperatives.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

 

Julian Cyr

Cape and Islands

 

Sarah K. Peake

4th Barnstable

1/31/2017


SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1862        FILED ON: 1/20/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 993

By Mr. Cyr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 993) of Julian Cyr and Sarah K. Peake for legislation to support the establishment of employee cooperatives.  Labor and Workforce Development.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

 

An Act supporting the establishment of employee cooperatives.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 2 of Chapter 157A is hereby amended by adding the following language:

“Original business owner,” a natural person who is the majority shareholder of a business at the time of the cooperative conversion.

SECTION 2. Chapter 157A is hereby amended by inserting after section 6 the following new section:

Section 6A. Specialized membership shares.

(a) An original business owner may hold membership shares on a temporary basis that shall not be subject to the requirements set forth in section 2 of chapter 157. Shares held under this section shall be referred to as “specialized membership shares.”

(b) Specialized membership shares may only be accessed after the creation of a timeline, mutually agreed upon by the original business owner and members of the cooperative, for the sale of all specialized shares to general membership shareholders.

(c) Specialized membership shares are aggregated to allow the original owner one membership vote while in retention of the specialized membership shares.

SECTION 3. Section 8 of chapter 157A is hereby amended by adding after subsection (b) the following subsection:

(c) Dividends from specialized membership shares under section 6A of this chapter are not disbursed on a patronage basis. Specialized membership shares allow dividend returns at a predetermined rate, as determined by the original business owner and worker owners at the commencement of the cooperative conversion.