HB78 Alabama 2016 Session

This bill would establish the Alabama Cooperative Housing Corporation Act of 2016, to regulate cooperatives, a form of ownership of real property in which legal title is vested in a corporation or other entity, and the cooperative unit's occupants receive an exclusive right to occupy the unit

This bill would require any cooperative housing corporation formed after January 1, 2017, to organize under the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Act, and be subject to all the duties, requirements, obligations, rights, and privileges under the act, and would require the filing of certain cooperative documents with the Secretary of State

This bill would require the Secretary of State to implement and maintain an electronic database, organized by cooperative name and accessible by the public through the Secretary of State's website, with the capability to search and retrieve cooperative filings

The bill also provides requirements for the adoption of certain governing documents of the cooperative, including the master declaration, bylaws, and master list; provides for the transfer or sale of shares of the cooperative under certain conditions and allows for the exercise of a right of first refusal; and authorizes cooperative housing corporations to claim a homestead exemption on cooperative property, with the tax reduction to be apportioned among the owners on a per unit basis

To create the Alabama Cooperative Housing Corporation Act; to add Chapter 8C to Title 35, Code of Alabama 1975, to define terms; to require certain cooperatives to organize under the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Act; to require the filing of certain cooperative documents with the Secretary of State; to require the Secretary of State to implement and maintain a public searchable electronic database of cooperative filings; to provide for the adoption of governing documents, including requirements for master declarations, bylaws, and master lists; to provide for the transfer or sale of shares of the cooperative under certain conditions; to provide for obligations of owners toward the association; to authorize a cooperative to amend cooperative documents under certain conditions; to provide for liens; to provide for the right of first refusal under certain conditions; and to add Section 40-9-19.2 to Chapter 9 of Title 40, Code of Alabama 1975; to authorize cooperatives to claim a homestead exemption under certain conditions.