of new policies and the renewal of any policies previously issued. $ 34. PENALTIES, HOW RECOVERED.] Every penalty provided for by this act, shall be sued for and recovered in the name of the Territory by the district attorney in whose jurisdiction the company or agent or agents so violating shall be doing business, and one-half of all such penalties shall be paid, when recovered, into the treasury of said county, and the other half to the informer; and in case of the non-payment of such penalties, the party so offending shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, in the discretion of any court having cognizance thereof. $ 35. DURATION OF CHARTERS.] All companies incorporated or extended under this act, may provide in their charter for not more than thirty years' duration, but the legislature may at any time alter or amend this act, and provide for the closing up of the business and affairs of any company formed under it. Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the subsequent extension of the charter of companies organized or extended under this act. $ 36. REDUCING CAPITAL STOCK.] Whenever it shall appear to the territorial Auditor, from examination made by him, in the manner prescribed by law, that the capital stock of any company organized under this act, is impaired to an amount exceeding twenty per cent. of such capital, and he shall be of the opinion that the interests of the public will not be prejudiced by perinit ting such company to continue business with the reduced capital, it shall be lawful for such company, with the permission of the said Auditor, to reduce its capital stock, and the par value of the shares thereof, to such amount as the Auditor may, under his hand and seal, certify to be proper, and as shall, in his opinion, be justified by the assets and property of such company; Provided, That no part of such assets and property shall be distributed to the stockholders; Provided further, That the capital stock of any such company shall not be reduced to an amount less than the sum now required by law for the organization of a new company under the general insurance laws, for the transaction of business at the place where such a company is located, and of the kind which said company is authorized to transact. No reduction of the capital of any such company shall be made except upon a resolution of the board of directors, approved by at least two-thirds of the directors, certified under its corporate seal, signed by the president and at least two-thirds of the directors and proved or acknowledged in the manner required by law for the proof or acknowledgment of conveyances, which certificate shall be filed in the office of said Auditor before any action shall be had by him thereon. The territorial Auditor, in case he shall permit any such company to reduce its capital in the manner provided in this act, shall execute the certificate required by this act in duplicate, and deliver one of said certificates to the officers of said company, who shall forthwith file the same with the clerk of said county in which said company is located, and the other to be filed in the office of said Auditor Such company upon filing the certificate with the county clerk as required by this act, shall with such reduced capital, possess the same rights and be subject to the same liabilities as it possessed and was subject to at the time of the reduction of its capital, and the charter of such company shall be deemed to be amended in all respects to the amount of capital, and per value of the shares, so as to conform to the reduction. It shall be lawful for the said company to require the return of the original certificate of stock held by each stockholder, in lieu thereof to issue new certificates for such number of shares as each stockholder may be entitled to; in the proportion that the reduced capital may be found to bear to the original capital of the company. It shall be lawful for any such company after its capital shall be so reduced as aforesaid, to increase its capital stock in the manner prescribed by this act. $37. STATEMENT OF RECEIVERS.] It shall be the duty of all receivers of insurance companies, on or before the 1st day of March of each year, and at any other time, when required by the territorial auditor, to make and to file, annually, their statements of their assets and liabilities, and of their income and expenditures, in the same manner and form, and under the same penalties, as the officers of such companies are now required by law to make annual and other statements to the Auditor. § 38. PUBLICATION OF STATEMENT.] And the said Auditor shall also require its annual statement, required to be filed by this act, to be published, in conformity with the provisions of section 16 of this act. 39. FEES. There shall be paid by every company, association, person or persons, or agent, doing business in this Territory, to whom this act shall apply, the following fees : Upon filing declaration, or certified copy of charter, $25. For each certificate of authority, and certified copy thereof, $2. For every copy of any paper filed in the department, the sum of twenty cents per folio; and for fixing official seal to such copy and certifying the same, the sum of $1. For official examinations of companies under this act, the actual expense incurred, not to exceed $10 per diem. And companies organized under the laws of this Territory, shall pay the following fees: For filing and examination of the first application of any com pany, and the issuing of the certificates of license thereon, $10. For filing each annual statement, and the issuing renewal of license required by law, $3. For each certificate of authority to its agents, fifty cents. Provided: That the net amount of all fees over and above the cost of performing the clerical labor connected therewith shall not exceed under this act, the sum of two thousand dollars, and that any amount above that sum shall be paid over to the territorial Treasurer for the general fund of the Territory. 8 40. TAX.] Every insurance company doing business in this Territory, except in joint-stock and mutual companies organized under the laws of this territory, shall, at the time of making the annual statement, as required by law, pay into the [territorial] state treasury, as taxes, two and a-half per cent. of the gross amount of premiums received in this Territory during the preceding year, taking duplicate receipts theretor, one of which shall be filed with the Auditor; and upon the filing of said receiptsnot until then—the said Auditor shall issue the annual certificate as provided by law; and the said sum of two and a-half per cent. shall be in full of all taxes, state [territorial] and local 41. WHEN COMPANY MAY COMMENCE BUSINESS.] No company formed under this act for the purpose of doing the business of insurance on the mutual plan, shall commence business within this Territory, nor establish agencies for the transaction of business within this Territory, until agreements have been entered into for insurance with at least one hundred applicants, the premiums of which shall amount to not less than fifty thousand dollars, of which ten thousand dollars at least, shall have been paid in cash, and notes of solvent parties, founded on actual and bona fide applications for insurance, shall have been received for the remainder, and no one of the notes received as aforesaid, shall amount to more than two hundred dollars, and no two shall be given for the same risk, or be made by the same person or firm, except where the whole amount of such notes shall not be more than two hundred dollars, nor shall any such note be represented as capital stock, unless a policy be issued upon the same within thirty days after the organization of the company, upon a risk which shall not be for a shorter period than twelve months. Each of said notes shall be payable, in part or in whole, at any time when the directors shall deem the same requisite for payment of any loss and such incidental expenses as may be necessary for the transaction of said business. And no note shall be and appear as a help to said capital stock, unless the same shall be accompanied by a certificate of the register of deeds or clerk of the district court of the county where the person making such note shall reside, that the person making the note is, in his opinion, pecuniarily good and responsible for the same; and no such note shall be surrendered during the life-time of the policy for which it was given. 42. AGENTS' RESPONSIBILITY.] Agents appointed by any company doing business in this Territory, to solicit for applications for insurance, collect the premiums on the same, and transact other duties of agents in such cases, shall be held personally responsible to such company for any money received by them for such company; and in case any such agent shall embezzle or fraudulently convert to his own use, or shall take or secrete the same with the intent to embezzle and convert to his own use, without the consent of such company, any money belonging to such company, which shall come into his possession, or shall be under his care by virtue of his agency, he shall be deemed by so doing to have committed the crime of larceny, and on conviction shall be subject to the fine and penalties provided by the statutes in such cases. $43. RECIPROCAL OBLIGATIONS.] When by the laws of any state or territory, any taxes, fines, penalties, licenses, fees, deposits of moneys or securities, or capital requirements, or other obligations, or prohibitions are imposed or would be imposed on insurance companies of this Territory, doing or that might seek to do, business in such state or territory, or upon their agents therein; so long as such laws continue in force, the same obligations and prohibitions, of whatever kind, shall be imposed upon all insurance companies of such state or territory doing business within this Territory or upon their agents here. 844. § 44. ANNUAL STATEMENTS.] All insurance companies heretofore organized in the Territory of Dakota, and now doing business in this Territory, shall be required to make the annual statement provided for and required by companies formed or organized under this act. But this shall not be construed to interfere with, or in any manner abridge, the rights and privileges of any conpany already in existence, or doing business under any law now or heretofore existing in the Territory. 45. CHANGING PRINCIPAL OFFICE.] It shall be lawful for any insurance company to change the location of its principal office to any place within the Territory of Dakota, by a majority vote of the stock of said company, and said company shall also publish a notice of such change of location for three consecutive months immediately thereafter, in some newspaper of general circulation published in said Territory, a copy of which notice must be filed with the Auditor of the Territory. $46. REPEALED-PROVISO.] All of chapter 69 of the Civil Code, with the amendments thereto regulating insurance companies and the business of insurance is hereby repealed; Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall prevent the complete organization of any insurance company under the laws heretofore in force, where the declaration of intention to form and the charter of such insurance company, was filed in the office of the Auditor of said Territory at the time of the passage of this act. 847. NOT TO APPLY.] This act shall not apply to the organization, duties or powers of county mutual insurance companies. 48. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval. Approved, March 13, 1885. COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES. CHAPTER 70. AN ACT Anthorizing the Formation of County Mutual Insurance Companies. Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota : § 1. WHO MAY UNITE TO FORM COMPANY.] It shall be lawful for any number of persons, not less than twenty-five (25) residing in any county in this Territory, who collectively shall own property of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.c0) in value, which they desire to have insured, to form themselves into a company for mutual insurance against loss or damage by fire, lightning, hail and tornado, which corporation shall possess the usual powers and be subject to the usual duties of corporations, and the corporated name thereof shall embrace the name of the county in which the business office of the said company shall be located. § 2. DIRECTORS.] Every company so formed shall choose of their number not less than five, nor more than nine (9) directors to manage the affairs of such company, who shall hold their office for one year, or until others are elected, and such directors shall choose one of their members president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Said treasurer shall give such bond as may be required by the board of directors of said company. § 3. ARTICLES TO BE FILED.] The directors of such company shall file their articles of association, together with a copy of their 1885-18 |