ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 191
(Senators Minard, Sharpe and Jenkins, original sponsors)
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[Passed March 8, 2003; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section three, article ten, chapter
thirty-one-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the procedure for
a state-chartered credit union to convert to a federal charter
or a charter of another state; removing the requirement of
having a hearing; and increasing the period of required notice
to members prior to voting on the issue of conversion.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article ten, chapter thirty-one-c of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. CHANGE IN CORPORATE STATUS.
§31C-10-3. Conversion.
(a) A credit union incorporated under the laws of this state
may be converted to a credit union organized under the laws of any
other state or under the laws of the United States by complying
with the following requirements:
(1) The proposition for the conversion shall first be approved and a date set for a vote thereon by the members (either at a
meeting to be held on such date or by written ballot to be filed on
or before such date) by a majority of the directors of the West
Virginia state credit union. Written notice of the proposition and
of the date set for the vote shall then be delivered in person to
each member, or mailed to each member at the address for such
member appearing on the records of the credit union, not more than
sixty or less than fourteen days prior to such date. Approval of
the proposition for conversion shall be by the affirmative vote of
two thirds of the members voting in person or in writing;
(2) A statement of the results of the vote, verified by the
affidavits of the president or vice president and the secretary,
shall be filed with the commissioner of banking within ten days
after the vote is taken; however, no West Virginia state-chartered
credit union may convert its charter to that of another state
unless: (i) The conversion is approved by the commissioner of
banking in writing after notice; (ii) the other state allows
conversions of its credit unions to a West Virginia state charter
on a reciprocal basis; and (iii) the majority, or in the event the
credit union operates offices in more than two states, the
plurality, of the credit union's members are residents of that
other state. To the extent that an out-of-state credit union
created by conversion seeks to conduct business through a branch or
service facility in West Virginia, the provisions of section six,
article two of this chapter shall apply;
(3) Promptly after the commissioner of banking has approved
the conversion in writing, and in no event later than ninety days
thereafter, the credit union shall take such action as may be necessary under the applicable federal or state law to make it a
federal credit union or credit union of another state and within
ten days after receipt of the federal credit union charter or
out-of-state credit union charter there shall be filed with the
commissioner of banking a copy of the charter thus issued. Upon
such filing, the credit union shall cease to be a West Virginia
state-chartered credit union;
(4) The successor federal credit union or out-of-state
chartered credit union shall be vested with all the assets and
shall continue to be responsible for all of the obligations of the
West Virginia state credit union to the same extent as though the
conversion had not taken place.
(b) A credit union organized under the laws of the United
States or of any other state may convert to a credit union
incorporated under the laws of this state. To effect a conversion,
a credit union must comply with all the requirements of the
jurisdiction under which it was originally organized and the
requirements of the laws and rules of this state and file proof of
compliance with the commissioner. The commissioner shall generally
treat the conversion to a West Virginia state-chartered credit
union as a formation of a new credit union pursuant to article two
of this chapter and the procedures and requirements therein shall
be followed to the extent applicable.