Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 7-5.3 - Benefit Corporations

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Benefit corporation: means a corporation for profit with purposes set forth in Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2
• Benefit director: means either:

  (i)  The director designated as the benefit director of a benefit corporation under Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2

• Benefit enforcement proceeding: means any claim or action or proceeding for:

  (i)  Failure of a benefit corporation to pursue or create general public benefit or a specific public benefit purpose set forth in its articles; or

  (ii)  Violation of any obligation, duty, or standard of conduct under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2

• Benefit officer: means the individual, if any, designated as the benefit officer of a benefit corporation under Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• General public benefit: means a material positive impact on society and the environment, taken as a whole, assessed against a third-party standard, from the business and operations of a benefit corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2
• Independent: means having no material relationship with a benefit corporation or a subsidiary of the benefit corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2
• 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}
• Minimum status vote: means :

  (i)  In the case of a corporation, in addition to any other required approval or vote, the satisfaction of the following conditions:

  (A)  The shareholders of every class or series shall be entitled to vote as a class on the corporate action regardless of a limitation stated in the articles of incorporation or bylaws on the voting rights of any class or series. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2

• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Publicly traded corporation: means a corporation that has shares listed on a national securities exchange or traded in a market maintained by one or more members of a national securities association. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2
• Specific public benefit: includes :

  (i)  Providing low-income or underserved individuals or communities with beneficial products or services;

  (ii)  Promoting economic opportunity for individuals or communities beyond the creation of jobs in the normal course of business;

  (iii)  Protecting or restoring the environment;

  (iv)  Improving human health;

  (v)  Promoting the arts, sciences, or advancement of knowledge;

  (vi)  Increasing the flow of capital to entities with a purpose to benefit society or the environment; and

  (vii)  Conferring any other particular benefit on society or the environment. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2

• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subsidiary: means , in relation to a person, an entity in which the person owns beneficially, or of record, fifty percent (50%) or more of the outstanding equity interests, calculated as if all outstanding rights to acquire equity interests in the entity had been exercised. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2
• Third-party standard: means a recognized standard for defining, reporting, and assessing corporate social and environmental performance that is:

  (i)  Comprehensive because it assesses the effect of the business and its operations upon the interests listed in Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.3-2