North Dakota Code 10-35-14 – Shareholder proposals of business at a regular meeting
1. A publicly traded corporation may not require a shareholder or beneficial owner to provide notice of an intention to propose a matter for consideration or a vote at a regular meeting of shareholders except as provided in a provision of the article or bylaws that satisfies the requirements of this section.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 10-35-14
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33
2. A provision of the articles or bylaws requiring a shareholder or beneficial owner to provide notice of an intention to propose a matter for consideration or a vote by the shareholders may not require the notice to include more than:
a. The name of the shareholder or beneficial owner; b. A statement that the shareholder or beneficial owner is the beneficial owner of one or more shares in the corporation and reasonable evidence of that ownership; and
c. The general nature of the business to be proposed.
3. Any deadline fixed by the articles or bylaws for submission by a shareholder or beneficial owner of a notice of intention to propose a matter for consideration or a vote by the shareholders may not be earlier than:
a. In the case of a meeting held within five business days before or after the anniversary of the previous year‘s regular meeting, ninety days before the anniversary date of the prior regular meeting; or
b. In the case of a meeting not held within five business days before or after the anniversary of the previous year’s regular meeting, ninety days before the date of the meeting.
4. A provision of the articles or bylaws requiring a shareholder or beneficial owner to provide notice of an intention to propose a matter for consideration or a vote by the shareholders must provide a period of at least twenty days during which the shareholder or beneficial owner may submit the notice to the publicly traded corporation.
5. The adoption or amendment of a bylaw requiring advance notice of business to be proposed by a shareholder or beneficial owner may not take effect in the one hundred twenty-day period before the next regular meeting of shareholders, unless the adoption or amendment of the bylaw has been approved by the shareholders.
6. This section does not apply to the proposal by a shareholder or beneficial owner of an amendment of the articles of a publicly traded corporation.