NCBA CLUSA is celebrating National Co-op Month at the National Press Club on Wednesday, October 26, from 1 – 3 p.m., where the U.S. Department of Agriculture will officially launch its long-anticipated State Cooperative Statute Website. Click here to register for this free event!
Sam Rikkers, Administrator of USDA Rural Development, will be on hand to announce this milestone event along with USDA Legal Advisor Meegan Moriarty, who will provide a firsthand look into this new and exciting cooperative law tool.
The State Cooperative Statute Website, a comprehensive, state-by-state review of co-op law, is expected to address the challenge of inconsistent legislative framework for cooperative development in the US. Currently, co-op statutes differ greatly from state to state. Nationwide, both incorporation legislation and enabling legislation are needed to create a legal environment conducive to cooperative growth.
NCBA CLUSA has long advocated for a 50-state approach to cooperative law. Next week’s launch of the State Cooperative Statute website will help identify core pieces of good co-op statutes that could be adopted by other states, resulting in clearer and more consistent statutes nationwide.
Following the official launch, NCBA CLUSA president and CEO Judy Ziewacz will moderate a panel on jobs, the economy and the co-op solution in the lead-up to next month’s election.
In January 2017, the 115th Congress and a new administration will be tasked to promote domestic policies and legislation that alleviate poverty, address income inequality, work toward inclusive capitalism and create more abundant economic opportunity in an era of tight federal budgets. This panel will address how the cooperative movement can best work with economic proposals from the right and the left to achieve workable, bipartisan solutions.
Panelists include NCBA CLUSA Vice President of Advocacy Alan Knapp; Vernon Oakes, host of Everything Co-op; and Gabe Snow, Senior Grassroots Advocacy Representative for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The panelists, joined by other advocacy leaders and co-op experts, will discuss the type of candidate who would support cooperative development and how best the movement can impart on the next administration the value and potential of cooperative businesses. Join Us!