H.B. 1303 Summary

• Establishes the Hawaii Cooperative Law, creating a new legal framework for forming and operating cooperatives in Hawaii, including general cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives, renewable energy cooperatives, and worker cooperatives.

• Defines worker cooperatives as cooperatives where worker-members contribute labor and have democratic self-management rights, with provisions for capital account cooperatives and collective board worker cooperatives.

• Sets requirements for cooperative governance including annual meetings, member voting (one vote per member), board of directors (minimum three members), annual reports to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and member inspection rights.

• Authorizes cooperatives to operate at cost by adjusting prices or returning net margins on a patronage basis, with limits on dividends and voting restricted to members.

• Provides protections for members including limited personal liability, dissenters' rights in mergers or asset sales, and provisions for voluntary dissolution with distributions based on patronage, capital contributions, or combinations thereof.