What is the difference between chapter 308A and chapter 308B?
Chapter 308A is the older Cooperative Law and chapter 308B is the Minnesota Cooperative Associations Act, which adds patron and nonpatron membership interests and its own capital and voting rules.
Both chapters let you organize a cooperative in Minnesota, but they have different rules.
- 308B has patron and nonpatron membership interests, at least 60 percent (or, if authorized, 15 percent) of financial rights for patron interests, and one vote per patron member with a 15 percent collective floor P1, § 308B.545; § 308B.601, subd. 3.
- 308A has default terms presumed to be in a 308A cooperative's articles, including a one-vote limit for common stockholders and an eight percent cap on annual dividends on capital stock and nonstock equity P2, § 308A.131.
A 308A cooperative may convert to 308B by following § 308B.225 P1, § 308B.225.
We have not compared the two chapters line by line. See Choose a cooperative type and chapter.
Statute sections referenced
- § 308A.131 ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.
- § 308B.001 CITATION.
- § 308B.225 AMENDMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE GOVERNED BY THIS CHAPTER.
Related
Sources
- P1 Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 308B (Cooperative Associations), Office of the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. revisor.mn.gov (primary; accessed October 15, 2026)
- P2 Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 308A (Cooperative Law), Office of the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. revisor.mn.gov (primary; accessed October 15, 2026)