News

Move to roll-back restrictions on co-op stock sales

A bill to reduce the requirements for cooperatives to sell stock has passed out of the Wisconsin State Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions. Authored by Representative Al Ott, the bill would roll-back provisions of a 2009 update to the federal Uniform Securities Law which Ott says significantly narrowed and made more restrictive a state-level securities registration exemption for cooperatives. The Forest Junction Republican says the restrictions resulted in confusion, delays, and substantial legal costs that are proving to be a deciding factor in whether or not a new cooperative moves forward.

Assembly Bill 228 now moves to the full Assembly with a vote expected next Tuesday.