Rhode Island General Laws 39-3-24. Transactions between utilities for which approval required
With the consent and approval of the division, but not otherwise:
(1) Any two (2) or more public utilities doing business in the same municipality or locality within this state, or any two (2) or more public utilities whose lines intersect or parallel each other within this state, or furnish a like service or product within this state, may enter into contracts with each other that will enable the public utilities to operate their lines or plants in connection with each other.
(2) Any public utility may purchase or lease all or any part of the property, assets, plant, and business of any other public utility or merge with any other public utility, and in connection therewith may exercise and enjoy all of the rights, powers, easements, privileges, and franchises theretofore exercised and enjoyed by any other public utility with respect to the property, assets, plant, and business so purchased, leased, or merged.
(3) Any public utility may merge with any other public utility or sell or lease all or any part of its property, assets, plant, and business to any other public utility, provided that the merger or a sale or lease of all or substantially all of its property, assets, plant, and business shall be authorized by a vote of at least two-thirds (?) in interest of its stockholders at a meeting duly called for the purpose. Any stockholder who shall not have voted in favor of the merger, sale, or lease, either in person or by proxy, shall be entitled to the rights, and the corporation shall be subject to the duties, obligations, and liabilities set forth in § 7-1.2-1201 and § 7-1.2-1202 with respect to dissenting stockholders and to corporations that sell, lease, or exchange their entire assets respectively.
(4) Any public utility may directly or indirectly purchase the stock of any other public utility.
History of Section.
G.L. 1923, ch. 253, § 63; P.L. 1936, ch. 2345, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 122, § 59; G.L. 1956, § 39-3-24; P.L. 1985, ch. 376, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 142, § 3; P.L. 1999, ch. 247, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 36, § 24; P.L. 2005, ch. 72, § 24; P.L. 2017, ch. 18, § 2; P.L. 2017, ch. 31, § 2.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-3-24
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Division: means the division of public utilities and carriers. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Public utility: means and includes every company that is an electric distribution company and every company operating or doing business in intrastate commerce and in this state as a railroad, street railway, common carrier, gas, liquefied natural gas, water, telephone, telegraph, and pipeline company, and every company owning, leasing, maintaining, managing, or controlling any plant or equipment, or any part of any plant or equipment, within this state for manufacturing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or furnishing natural or manufactured gas, directly or indirectly, to or for the public, or any cars or equipment employed on, or in connection with, any railroad or street railway for public or general use within this state, or any pipes, mains, poles, wires, conduits, fixtures, through, over, across, under, or along any public highways, parkways, or streets, public lands, waters, or parks for the transmission, transportation, or distribution of gas for sale to the public for light, heat, cooling, or power for providing audio or visual telephonic or telegraphic communication service within this state, or any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well, or distributing plant or system employed for the distribution of water to the consuming public within this state, including the water supply board of the city of Providence; provided, that, except as provided in § 39-16-9 and in P. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2