Rural Utility Cooperative Law Blog

A recent publication to the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society explains how cooperatives are “the unsung heroes of broadband.”  The following post explains the substance of the publication:  Obtaining broadband access has become a necessity, especially now during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Access to broadband for

The Texas Public Utilities Commission is cutting the amount of money from a fund that subsidizes rural Texas network services, creating a potential loss of phone and internet services for more than a million Texas homes.  For many of these homes, phones service is more

Effective January 12, 2021, the Small Business Administration and the Department of the Treasury issued an Interim Final Rule concerning the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).  The rule applies to the second round of PPP loans under the Economic Aid to

As part of the 2017 tax reform bill, Congress passed new Section 199A, which authorizes a deduction for “specified agricultural or horticultural cooperatives.”  As discussed in a subsequent post, Congress enacted Section 199A(g) to limit the 199A deduction based on

In a new ruling, the Service considered the period of historical patronage business that should be used to calculate the gain on a liquidation sale.   Coop was a cooperative within the meaning of Subchapter T.  It struggled in its market and sold its business to Buyer Corp, including all assets, property, networks

Dakota Energy has filed a lawsuit concerning its potential exit from a wholesale power supplier, East River Electric.  Dakota Energy’s concern is that East River’s bylaws require, as a condition to withdrawal, satisfaction of contractual obligations to East River.  And Dakota Energy is currently under a wholesale power contract

The Farm Credit Administration has issued an updated informational memorandum for the purposes of providing Farm Credit System institutions with updated guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program. Follow this link for the memorandum:  https://ww3.fca.gov/readingrm/infomemo/Lists/InformationMemorandums/Attachments/269/PaycheckProtectionProgramInfoMemoJuly2020.pdf  The memorandum explains,  Does the Farm Credit Act

The USDA Rural Development Division and Cooperative Services Branch of the US Department of Agriculture reported that in 2019 co-ops sold $53.2 billion in farm supplies including $18.9 billion in petroleum and energy products (36% of total net farm supplies

October is National Cooperative Month. The USDA is holding a webinar about the resources available to support cooperative development in rural America, including updates on cooperative development resources, an overview of RD funding opportunities, and information on ownership conversions. To register

The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, serving 115 mostly rural towns, is trying again to add delivering broadband internet to its core mission of delivering electricity. A special election has been called on the issue and would change the co-op’s bylaws.

In a lawsuit brought against a nonprofit, member-owned electric cooperative corporation, the plaintiff-members (“Plaintiffs”) alleged that Southwest Mississippi Electric Cooperative (the “Cooperative”) unlawfully failed to return to its members patronage capital totaling more than $13M.[1]  The trial court granted the

Legislation SB 373 was introduced to the Georgia General Assembly in early February 2020. The bill was fashioned after legislation in 2018 that established gross negligence as the standard of care for director or officer actions and decisions in for-profit

The CARES Act included economic stimulus packages of $349 billion for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans and modified the existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EID) program for companies impacted by COVID-19. Further, in addition to small businesses that continued to

In order to help to help rural residents, businesses, and communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, the USDA Rural Development office has taken a number of steps. Rural Development will keep customers, partners, and stakeholders updated as more actions are taken to

On April 2, 2020, the FCC adopted a new telehealth program. This is a $200 million program that will provide immediate support to healthcare providers and patients across the country in direct response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This Telehealth

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES ACT). The CARES Act provided an economic stimulus package of $349 billion dollars for Paycheck Protection Loans and modified the existing provisions

In some rural areas, including in Georgia, residents and businesses lack quality internet access. As technology continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly needed by people. Lack of access to high-speed internet in a world that revolves around technology leads

Many businesses are giving consumers a break, including many electric and telephone cooperatives. Utility cooperatives are offering free services or waiving fees and pledging not to disconnect as COVID-19 disrupts life for students, workers, families, businesses and communities. For more

In 1998 the Digital Millennium Copyright ACT (“DMCA”) was designed to respond to the growing issue of file sharing websites and digital piracy of copyrighted material. The DMCA aims to protect copyright owners and provide a process by which copyright

The FCC is seeking more than $200 Million in fines from “one or more” cellphone carriers, among them AT&T and T-Mobile.  Officials found the companies apparently violated federal law by failing to safeguard information about customers’ real-time locations. The following

A recent IRS private letter ruling addresses whether a cooperative’s gain on sale of stock resulted in patronage or non-patronage income. This particular ruling follows many others that focus on the reason for acquiring the asset. In Year 1, CORP

McKenzie Electric Cooperative recently filed a lawsuit seeking damages from its supplier Upper Missouri G&T Electric Cooperative and electricity generator Basin Electric Cooperative.  McKenzie Electric is claiming that rate increases since 2016 violate state law and breaches contractual agreements.  The dispute arises out of a synthetic fuels

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has transitioned from forms-based data submission to digital submission.  RUS has created a short guide explaining the change for electric and telephone borrowers.  From RUS: All RUS year-end financial and operating reports for Electric Borrowers

David Cook will be speaking at the upcoming NTCA’s RTIME conference.   The conference will be held on February 16 – 19 in Phoenix, AZ.  The conference will bring together more than 2,200 thought leaders in the Rural Broadband industry who are ready to push the