{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/56-231.32.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/56-231.32.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/56-231.32.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/56-231.32.html"}],"law_id":59045,"edition_id":1,"section_id":59045,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.32","catch_line":"Service to members","history":"1999, c. 874.","full_text":"No person shall become or remain a member unless such person shall use utility services supplied by such cooperative and shall have complied with the terms and conditions in respect to membership contained in the bylaws of such cooperative. However, nothing in this article shall prevent a cooperative from engaging in other lawful activities or enterprises. Should the cooperative acquire any utility facilities already dedicated or devoted to the public use it may, for the purpose of continuing existing service and avoiding hardship, continue to serve the persons served directly from such facilities at the time of such acquisition without requiring that such persons become members. Such nonmember utility service customers shall have the right to become members upon nondiscriminatory terms. The charges for regulated utility services to such nonmembers shall be on a cost basis similar to the charges to members.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":216514,"text":"No person shall become or remain a member unless such person shall use utility services supplied by such cooperative and shall have complied with the terms and conditions in respect to membership contained in the bylaws of such cooperative. However, nothing in this article shall prevent a cooperative from engaging in other lawful activities or enterprises. Should the cooperative acquire any utility facilities already dedicated or devoted to the public use it may, for the purpose of continuing existing service and avoiding hardship, continue to serve the persons served directly from such facilities at the time of such acquisition without requiring that such persons become members. Such nonmember utility service customers shall have the right to become members upon nondiscriminatory terms. The charges for regulated utility services to such nonmembers shall be on a cost basis similar to the charges to members.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13548,"edition_id":1,"name":"Utility Consumer Services Cooperatives Act","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13182,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:11","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:11","permalink":{"id":251325,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13548,"identifier":"1","token":"56\/9.1\/1","url":"\/56\/9.1\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13182,"edition_id":1,"name":"Utility Consumer Services Cooperatives and Utility Aggregation Cooperatives","identifier":"9.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12881,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:24","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:24","permalink":{"id":251323,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13182,"identifier":"9.1","token":"56\/9.1","url":"\/56\/9.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12881,"edition_id":1,"name":"Public Service Companies","identifier":"56","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:58","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:58","permalink":{"id":248473,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12881,"identifier":"56","token":"56","url":"\/56\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":77567,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.15","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/56-231.15\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.15","metadata":false},{"id":69452,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.16","catch_line":"Organization; purpose","url":"\/56-231.16\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.16","metadata":false},{"id":84775,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.17","catch_line":"Articles of incorporation","url":"\/56-231.17\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.17","metadata":false},{"id":62056,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.18","catch_line":"Name of other corporations not to include term \"electric cooperative\" or \"utility consumer services cooperative.\"","url":"\/56-231.18\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.18","metadata":false},{"id":56649,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.19","catch_line":"Filing articles of incorporation; effect thereof; other provisions of law applicable","url":"\/56-231.19\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.19","metadata":false},{"id":56722,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.20","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/56-231.20\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.20","metadata":false},{"id":63207,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.21","catch_line":"Dissolution and termination of cooperatives","url":"\/56-231.21\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.21","metadata":false},{"id":83080,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.22","catch_line":"Charter amendments","url":"\/56-231.22\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.22","metadata":false},{"id":72128,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.23","catch_line":"General powers granted","url":"\/56-231.23\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.23","metadata":false},{"id":81307,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.24","catch_line":"Power to dispose of property","url":"\/56-231.24\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.24","metadata":false},{"id":73620,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.25","catch_line":"Power to issue obligations","url":"\/56-231.25\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.25","metadata":false},{"id":82512,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.26","catch_line":"Covenants in connection with obligations","url":"\/56-231.26\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.26","metadata":false},{"id":56541,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.27","catch_line":"Power to purchase its own obligations","url":"\/56-231.27\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.27","metadata":false},{"id":54513,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.28","catch_line":"Board of directors of cooperatives","url":"\/56-231.28\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.28","metadata":false},{"id":55041,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.29","catch_line":"Powers of board of directors","url":"\/56-231.29\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.29","metadata":false},{"id":62265,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.30","catch_line":"Rights and liabilities of members","url":"\/56-231.30\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.30","metadata":false},{"id":63250,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.31","catch_line":"Payment of certain patronage capital to spouse or next of kin of deceased person","url":"\/56-231.31\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.31","metadata":false},{"id":82313,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.31:1","catch_line":"Donation of certain patronage capital to the cooperative","url":"\/56-231.31_1\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.31_1","metadata":false},{"id":59045,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.32","catch_line":"Service to members","url":"\/56-231.32\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.32","metadata":false},{"id":75936,"structure_id":13548,"section_number":"56-231.33","catch_line":"Adequate service; 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rates","url":"\/56-231.33\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.33","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/56-231.32\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1999. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 874<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":251399,"object_type":"law","relational_id":59045,"identifier":"56-231.32","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.32","url":"\/56-231.32\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/56-231.32\/","token":"56\/9.1\/1\/56-231.32","dublin_core":{"Title":"Service to members","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 56-231.32","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

No person<\/span> shall become or remain a member<\/span> unless such person<\/span> shall use utility services supplied by such cooperative<\/span> and shall have complied with the terms and conditions in respect to membership contained in the bylaws of such cooperative<\/span>. However, nothing in this article shall prevent a cooperative<\/span> from engaging in other lawful activities or enterprises. Should the cooperative<\/span> acquire<\/span> any utility facilities already dedicated or devoted to the public use it may, for the purpose of continuing existing service and avoiding hardship, continue to serve the persons<\/span> served directly from such facilities at the time of such acquisition without requiring that such persons<\/span> become members<\/span>. Such nonmember utility service customers shall have the right to become members<\/span> upon nondiscriminatory terms. The charges for regulated utility services<\/span> to such nonmembers shall be on a cost basis similar to the charges to members<\/span>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nSERVICE TO MEMBERS (\u00a7 56-231.32)\n\nNo person shall become or remain a member unless such person shall use utility\nservices supplied by such cooperative and shall have complied with the terms and\nconditions in respect to membership contained in the bylaws of such cooperative.\nHowever, nothing in this article shall prevent a cooperative from engaging in\nother lawful activities or enterprises. Should the cooperative acquire any\nutility facilities already dedicated or devoted to the public use it may, for\nthe purpose of continuing existing service and avoiding hardship, continue to\nserve the persons served directly from such facilities at the time of such\nacquisition without requiring that such persons become members. Such nonmember\nutility service customers shall have the right to become members upon\nnondiscriminatory terms. The charges for regulated utility services to such\nnonmembers shall be on a cost basis similar to the charges to members.\n\nHISTORY: 1999, c. 874.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}