Chapter Definitions

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Public Utilities and Carriers
  4. Rural Electric and Community Services Cooperatives
  5. Chapter Definitions

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

  1. “Area coverage” means that a service will be available to patrons in accordance with a financially feasible plan without regard to how thickly or sparsely patrons' premises may be located in a cooperative's areas of service;
  2. “Board” means a cooperative's board of directors or the necessary number thereof to take action;
  3. “Community utility services” includes broadband internet access and related services and telecommunications services, including, but not limited to, television communication services of any kind and by any means, television programming and decryption services, selling, leasing, both as lessor and lessee, servicing and repairing related equipment, including TV antenna dishes, and the furnishing for any purpose to itself or to others, including other cooperatives, information and data relative to its or their other purposes, including, if such is the case, the primary purpose. Nothing in this subdivision (3) permits a cooperative to provide cable service, as defined in § 7-59-303, or video service, as defined in § 7-59-303, without complying with the requirement to obtain a franchise as set forth in the Competitive Cable and Video Services Act, compiled in title 7, chapter 59, part 3;
  4. “Cooperative” or “cooperatives” means one (1) or more nonprofit cooperative membership corporations heretofore or hereafter organized under or otherwise subject to this chapter, including corporations transacting business in this state pursuant to § 65-25-121 under this chapter or under its predecessor, the Electric Cooperative Law, hereinafter called “foreign corporations”;
  5. “Lease-sale” means an agreement whereby the possession and use of assets and properties would be transferred to a lessee-purchaser for a stated or determinable term in time, during or at the end of which such lessee-purchaser would have the right and be obligated, or would have the option, to purchase and acquire, or would without further act acquire, fee simple title to such assets and properties for a price expressly stated in the agreement or for a price determinable by a formula contained in the agreement, whether or not any portion of any lease-hold or rental payments would be creditable as a part of such price;
  6. “Member” means a person having the right to vote for the directors of a cooperative and upon other matters as provided in this chapter, a cooperative's articles of incorporation or bylaws, and includes each incorporator of a cooperative thereof, and also a husband and wife admitted to joint membership;
  7. “Net worth” means the difference between a cooperative's assets and liabilities, which liabilities shall not include any amounts of patronage capital assigned or assignable to patrons on the cooperative's books or carried on such books even though not so assigned or assignable, determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and methods and the accounting system applicable to such cooperative, as most recently, but not more than sixty (60) days, reflected in its books of account and balance sheet prior to the date of a member meeting at which a vote will be taken on whether to sell or to lease-sell all or a substantial portion of the assets and properties which are devoted to and are used or useful in pursuing a primary purpose;
  8. “Patron” means a person agreeing to receive or already receiving or who in the past has received one (1) or more of the services rendered by a cooperative, whether such person is a member thereof or not, and “nonmember patron” means such a person who or which is not or was not a member;
  9. “Person” includes any natural person, firm, association, corporation, cooperative, business trust, partnership and federal, state or local governments, or departments, agencies or any other political subdivision thereof;
  10. “Primary purpose” means one (1) of the purposes provided for in § 65-25-104(a)(1), and a “secondary purpose” means one (1) of the purposes provided for in § 65-25-104(a)(2);
  11. “Service” or “services” includes sales, exchanges, rentals, repairs and maintenance of land, facilities, equipment, machinery, appliances, accessories and goods and the financing of their acquisition by patrons;
  12. “Substantial portion” means ten percent (10%) or more of the value in dollars of a cooperative's assets and properties as appropriately stated in its books of account; and
  13. “Telecommunications” does not include the furnishing of telephone service, either local or long distance, leased lines or equipment for the vocal or written transmission of messages, or any related services for which a charge is made.


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