10A-3A-1.02. Chapter Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless otherwise specified or unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION means the certificate of incorporation described in Section 10A-3A-2.02, all amendments to the certificate of incorporation, and any other documents permitted or required to be delivered for filing by a nonprofit corporation with the Secretary of State under this chapter or Chapter 1 that modify, amend, supplement, restate, or replace the certificate of incorporation. After the filing of a filing instrument under this chapter or Chapter 1 that restates or amends and restates the certificate of incorporation in its entirety, the certificate of incorporation shall not include any prior documents, but the original date of incorporation shall remain unchanged. When used with respect to a nonprofit corporation incorporated and existing on December 31, 2023, under a predecessor law of this state, the term “certificate of incorporation” means articles of incorporation, charter, or similar incorporating document, and all amendments and restatements to the articles of incorporation, charter, or similar incorporating document. When used with respect to a foreign nonprofit corporation, a business corporation, or a foreign business corporation, the “certificate of incorporation” of that entity means the document of that entity that is equivalent to the certificate of incorporation of a corporation. The term “certificate of incorporation” as used in this chapter is synonymous to the term certificate of formation used in Chapter 1.
(2) BOARD or BOARD OF DIRECTORS means the group of individuals responsible for the management or direction, and oversight, of the activities and affairs of the nonprofit corporation, regardless of the name used to refer to the group or other persons authorized to perform the functions of the board of directors.
(3) BUSINESS CORPORATION, except in the phrase foreign business corporation, means an entity incorporated or existing under the Alabama Business Corporation Law.
(4) BYLAWS means the code or codes of rules (other than the certificate of incorporation) adopted for the regulation or management of the affairs of the nonprofit corporation, regardless of the name or names by which the rules are designated.
(5) DELIVER or DELIVERY means any method of delivery used in conventional commercial practice, including delivery by hand, mail, commercial delivery, and, if authorized in accordance with Section 10A-3A-1.03, by electronic transmission.
(6) DIRECTOR means an individual designated, elected, or appointed, by that or any other name or title, to act as a member of the board of directors, while the individual is holding that position.
(7) DISTRIBUTION means a direct or indirect transfer of cash or other property from a nonprofit corporation to a member, director, or officer of that nonprofit corporation in that person’s capacity as a member, director, or officer, but does not mean payments or benefits made in accordance with Section 10A-3A-6.41.
(8) DOCUMENT means a writing as defined in Chapter 1.
(9) EFFECTIVE DATE when referring to a document accepted for filing by the Secretary of State, means the time and date determined in accordance with Article 4 of Chapter 1.
(10) ELECTRONIC MAIL means an electronic transmission directed to a unique electronic mail address.
(11) ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESS means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, consisting of a unique user name or mailbox (commonly referred to as the “local part” of the address) and a reference to an internet domain (commonly referred to as the “domain part” of the address), whether or not displayed, to which electronic mail can be sent or delivered.
(12) EMPLOYEE does not include an individual serving as an officer or director who is not otherwise employed by the nonprofit corporation.
(13) ENTITLED TO VOTE means entitled to vote on the matter under consideration pursuant to the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the nonprofit corporation, or applicable provisions of this chapter or Chapter 1.
(14) ENTITY includes nonprofit corporation; foreign nonprofit corporation; business corporation; foreign business corporation; estate; trust; unincorporated entity; foreign unincorporated entity; and state, United States, and foreign government.
(15) EXPENSES means reasonable expenses of any kind that are incurred in connection with a matter.
(16) FOREIGN BUSINESS CORPORATION means a business corporation incorporated under a law other than the law of this state which would be a business corporation if incorporated under the law of this state.
(17) FOREIGN NONPROFIT CORPORATION means a nonprofit corporation incorporated under a law other than the law of this state which would be a nonprofit corporation if incorporated under the law of this state.
(18) FOREIGN UNINCORPORATED ENTITY means an unincorporated entity whose internal affairs are governed by the law of a jurisdiction other than this state.
(19) FUNDAMENTAL TRANSACTION means an amendment of the certificate of incorporation, an amendment to the bylaws, a merger, a conversion, a sale of all or substantially all of the assets, or the dissolution of a nonprofit corporation.
(20) GOVERNING STATUTE means the statute governing the internal affairs of a nonprofit corporation, foreign nonprofit corporation, business corporation, foreign business corporation, unincorporated entity, or foreign unincorporated entity.
(21) INCLUDES and INCLUDING denote a partial definition or a nonexclusive list.
(22) INTEREST means:
(a) a share;
(b) a membership or membership interests; or
(c) either or both of the following rights under the governing statute governing an organization other than a nonprofit corporation, foreign nonprofit corporation, business corporation, or foreign business corporation:
(i) the right to receive distributions from that organization either in the ordinary course or upon liquidation; or
(ii) the right to receive notice or vote on issues involving that organization’s internal affairs, other than as an agent, assignee, proxy, or person responsible for managing that organization’s business and affairs.
(23) INTEREST HOLDER means a person who holds of record an interest.
(24) KNOWLEDGE is determined as follows:
(a) A person knows a fact when the person:
(1) has actual knowledge of it; or
(2) is deemed to know it under law other than this chapter.
(b) A person has notice of a fact when the person:
(1) knows of it;
(2) receives notification of it in accordance with Section 10A-3A-1.03;
(3) has reason to know the fact from all of the facts known to the person at the time in question; or
(4) is deemed to have notice of the fact under subsection (d).
(c) A person notifies another of a fact by taking steps reasonably required to inform the other person in ordinary course in accordance with Section 10A-3A-1.03, whether or not the other person knows the fact.
(d) A person is deemed to have notice of a nonprofit corporation’s:
(1) matters included in the certificate of incorporation upon filing;
(2) dissolution, 90 days after a certificate of dissolution under Section 10A-3A-11.05 becomes effective;
(3) conversion or merger under Article 13 or Article 12, 90 days after a statement of conversion or statement of merger becomes effective;
(4) conversion or merger under Article 8 of Chapter 1, 90 days after a statement of conversion or statement of merger becomes effective; and
(5) revocation of dissolution and reinstatement, 90 days after certificate of revocation of dissolution and reinstatement under Section 10A-3A-11.06 becomes effective.
(e) A member’s knowledge, notice, or receipt of a notification of a fact relating to the nonprofit corporation is not knowledge, notice, or receipt of a notification of a fact by that nonprofit corporation solely by reason of the member’s capacity as a member.
(f) The date and time of the effectiveness of a notice delivered in accordance with Section 10A-3A-1.03, is determined by Section 10A-3A-1.03.
(25) MEANS denotes an exhaustive definition.
(26) MEMBER means a person in whose name a membership is registered on the records of the membership nonprofit corporation and who has the right to (i) select or vote for the election of directors or (ii) vote on any type of fundamental transaction.
(27) MEMBERSHIP or MEMBERSHIP INTERESTS means the rights and any obligations of a member in a membership nonprofit corporation or a foreign membership nonprofit corporation.
(28) MEMBERSHIP NONPROFIT CORPORATION means, except as provided in Section 10A-3A-14.01(c)(1), a nonprofit corporation whose certificate of incorporation provides that it will have members.
(29) NONMEMBERSHIP NONPROFIT CORPORATION means a nonprofit corporation whose certificate of incorporation provides that it will not have members.
(30) NONPROFIT CORPORATION, except in the phrase foreign nonprofit corporation, means a nonprofit corporation incorporated under or existing under this chapter.
(31) ORGANIZATIONAL DOCUMENTS means the public organic record and private organizational documents of a nonprofit corporation, foreign nonprofit corporation, business corporation, foreign business corporation, or other organization.
(32) PRINCIPAL OFFICE means the office (in or out of this state) where the principal executive offices of a nonprofit corporation or foreign nonprofit corporation are located.
(33) PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONAL DOCUMENTS means (i) the bylaws of a nonprofit corporation, foreign nonprofit corporation, business corporation, or foreign business corporation or (ii) the rules, regardless of whether in writing, that govern the internal affairs of an unincorporated entity or foreign unincorporated entity, are binding on all its interest holders, and are not part of its public organic record, if any. Where private organizational documents have been amended or restated, the term means the private organizational documents as last amended or restated.
(34) PROCEEDING includes any civil suit and criminal, administrative, and investigatory action.
(35) PUBLIC ORGANIC RECORD means (i) the certificate of incorporation of a nonprofit corporation, foreign nonprofit corporation, business corporation, or foreign business corporation, or (ii) the document, if any, the filing of which is required to create an unincorporated entity or foreign unincorporated entity, or which creates the unincorporated entity or foreign unincorporated entity and is required to be filed. Where a public organic record has been amended or restated, the term means the public organic record as last amended or restated.
(36) RECORD DATE means the date fixed for determining the identity of the nonprofit corporation’s members and their interests for purposes of this chapter. Unless another time is specified when the record date is fixed, the determination shall be made as of the close of business at the principal office of the nonprofit corporation on the date so fixed.
(37) SECRETARY means the corporate officer to whom the certificate of incorporation, bylaws, or board of directors has delegated responsibility under Section 10A-3A-8.40(c) to maintain the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors, committees, and the members, and for authenticating records of the nonprofit corporation.
(38) SHARES means the units into which the proprietary interests in a domestic or foreign business corporation are divided.
(39) TYPE OF ENTITY means a generic form of entity: (i) recognized at common law; or (ii) formed under a governing statute, regardless of whether some entities formed under that law are subject to provisions of that law that create different categories of the form of entity.
(40) UNINCORPORATED ENTITY means an organization or artificial legal person that either has a separate legal existence or has the power to acquire an estate in real property in its own name and that is not any of the following: a corporation, foreign corporation, nonprofit corporation, foreign nonprofit corporation, a series of a limited liability company or of another type of entity, an estate, a trust, a state, United States, or foreign government. The term includes a general partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership, business trust, joint stock association, and unincorporated nonprofit association.
(41) UNITED STATES includes a district, authority, bureau, commission, department, and any other agency of the United States.
(42) VOTE, VOTING, or CASTING A VOTE includes the giving of consent in writing without a meeting. The term does not include either recording the fact of abstention or failing to vote for a candidate or for approval or disapproval of a matter, whether or not the person entitled to vote characterizes that conduct as voting or casting a vote.
(43) VOTING GROUP means one or more classes of members that under the certificate of incorporation, bylaws, or this chapter are entitled to vote and be counted together collectively on a matter at a meeting of members. All members entitled by the certificate of incorporation, bylaws, or this chapter to vote generally on the matter are for that purpose a single voting group.
(44) VOTING POWER means the current power to vote in the election of directors, or to vote on approval of any type of fundamental transaction.
(Act 2023-503, §1; Act 2024-413, §1.)
