New provisions allow Montana entities to hold remote meetings, and offer tax credits for job growth and training

Montana lawmakers approved new provisions for shareholder meetings during its 2021 legislative session in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Montana entities can amend or repeal bylaws that require in-person shareholder meetings, boards of directors can elect to hold virtual shareholder meetings, and shareholder lists can be made available electronically. Shareholder notice requirements were also amended to state that notice need not be given if:

• Notices to shareholders of two consecutive annual meetings, and all notices of meetings during the period between the two consecutive annual meetings, have been sent and have been returned undeliverable or could not be delivered; or
• All, but not less than two, distributions adopted to shareholders during a 12-month period, or two consecutive distributions to shareholders during a period of more than 12 months, have been sent to the shareholder and have been returned undeliverable or could not be delivered.

The amendment also provides that if a shareholder delivers to the corporation a written notice setting forth the shareholder’s current address, the requirement that notice be given to the shareholder must be reinstated.

Legislators also approved job growth and training tax credits for employers:

• Employers can receive a tax credit for 50% of training expenses paid to an unrelated, third-party for training in a vocational, technical or trade profession
• A corporate income tax credit is available for corporations with net job growth of at least ten new jobs in Montana the first year the credit is claimed, or 15 new jobs any subsequent year (up to seven years).

These changes are captured in the 2022 edition of CSC®Publishing’s Montana Laws Governing Business Entities Annotated.

The 2022 edition features all business-related chapters of Title 35—Corporations, Partnerships and Associations, as well as relevant sections covering trade name registration and taxation, as well as selected chapters from the Uniform Commercial Code regarding investment securities and secured transactions. The book includes a summary of legislative developments, as well as a Table of Sections Affected to quickly identify and locate changes.

The book is fully annotated with the latest case notes from state and federal courts interpreting the law.

Other features include a Fee Schedule showing the Secretary of State’s required filing fees and online access to more than 50 Montana forms for incorporation/ formation, qualification, mergers, dissolution, and name reservation for all entity types via the LexisNexis Bookstore download center. A list of forms and contact information for Montana’s Business and UCC Services can be found in the book’s appendix.

The book’s expansive index, sequential pagination, and page tabs make finding the information quicker and easier, while larger pages and a clean typeface enhance readability.

As with CSC’s other annotated statutory collections, Montana Laws Governing Business Entities Annotated is also available as an e-book and is part of the LexisNexis Digital Library.