§5-16-13. Rights, privileges, etc., of members; annual meeting; annual financial statement; voting by members; assessment of fines and penalties against members; transfer of real estate security by borrowing member.

(a) The rights, privileges and powers and the duties and liabilities of members of an association are fixed by the bylaws provided for in this chapter.

(b) An annual meeting of the members of each association shall be held in the month of January, as fixed in the bylaws of such association.

(c) Every association shall prepare and publish annually in the month of January in a newspaper of general circulation published in the English language in the county in which the home office of such association is located and shall deliver to each member upon application therefor a statement of its financial condition, in the form prescribed or approved by the commissioner.

(d) All account holders of record and all borrowers from the association shall be members thereof. Any person, including an adult individual, male or female, single or married, a partnership, association and corporation, may be a borrower from the association, provided such person has full legal power to contract for the payment of the loan under the laws of this state.

(e) In the determination of all questions requiring action by the members, each account holder shall be permitted to cast one vote for each $50.00, or fraction thereof of the participation value of his account. A borrowing member shall be permitted, as a borrower, to cast one vote and also to cast the number of votes to which he is entitled as an account holder. No member, however, shall cast more than 50 votes. Voting may be by proxy, provided the proxy instrument authorizing the proxy to vote shall have been executed in writing by the member and shall have been executed not more than six months prior to the meeting of members. Any number of members present at a regular or special meeting of members constitutes a quorum. A majority of all votes cast at any meeting of members shall determine any question. The members who shall be entitled to vote at any meeting of the members shall be those owning accounts of record and borrowing members of record at the end of the calendar month next preceding the date of the meeting of members, except those who have ceased to be members. The number of votes of each member shall be determined by the participation value of his account on such record date.

(f) The association shall not charge any member any sum of money by way of fine or penalty for any cause; except, that a reasonable charge may be made against borrowers for defaults or prepayments.

(g) A borrowing member obligated upon a real estate loan shall remain a member of the association, even though he shall have transferred the real estate security subject to the real estate loan, so long as such borrowing member remains obligated upon the real estate loan; provided, however, that the association may, at the request of such borrowing member and the transferee of such real estate security, transfer such membership to any transferee of such real estate security who is obligated on the real estate loan.

(Acts 1939, No. 459, p. 616; Code 1940, T. 5, §219.)