13.1-620 - Special kinds of business. - Virginia Statutes

§ 13.1-620. Special kinds of business.

A. If any corporation is to conduct the business of a bank or trust company,that shall be stated in the articles of incorporation and the corporationshall not have power to conduct other business except as may be related to orincidental to the banking or trust company business.

B. If any corporation is to conduct the business of an insurance company,that shall be stated in the articles of incorporation and the articles shallfurther set forth the class or classes of insurance the corporation proposesto undertake and the corporation shall not have power to conduct otherbusiness except as may be related to or incidental to the insurance business.

C. If any corporation is to conduct the business of a savings and loanassociation or savings bank, that shall be stated in the articles ofincorporation and the corporation shall not have power to conduct otherbusiness except as may be related to or incidental to the stated business.

D. If any corporation is to conduct the business of a railroad or otherpublic service company, that shall be stated in the articles of incorporationand a brief description of the business shall be included. Otherwise thecorporation shall not have the power to conduct a public service business orto exercise any of the privileges of a public service company. No corporationshall be organized under this chapter for the purpose of conducting in thisCommonwealth more than one kind of public service business except that thetelephone and telegraph businesses or the water and sewer businesses may becombined, but this provision shall not limit the powers of domesticcorporations existing on January 1, 1986. No corporation organized under thischapter to conduct the business of a public service company shall havegeneral business powers in this Commonwealth. Corporations organized underthis chapter to conduct the business of a public service company may,however, conduct in this Commonwealth other public service business ornonpublic service business so far as may be related to or incidental to itsstated business as a public service company and in any other state suchbusiness as may be authorized or permitted by the laws thereof. Nothing inthis subsection shall limit the powers of such corporation in respect of thesecurities of other corporations or of limited liability companies.

E. If one or more of the purposes set forth in the articles of incorporationis to own, manage or control any plant or equipment or any part of a plant orequipment within the Commonwealth for the conveyance of telephone messages orfor the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light,power or water, including heated or chilled water, or sewerage facilities,either directly or indirectly, to or for the public, the Commission shall notissue a certificate of incorporation unless the articles of incorporationexpressly state that the corporation is to conduct business as a publicservice company.

F. Whether or not classified elsewhere in the Code as public servicecompanies the following are not required to incorporate as public servicecompanies: a person authorized by the Federal Communications Commission toprovide commercial mobile service, household goods carriers, petroleum tanktruck carriers, bottled gas companies, taxicab companies, communitytelevision companies, charter party carriers, restricted parcel carriers,sight-seeing carriers, companies excluded from the definition of "publicutility" by § 56-265.1 (b)(4) or by § 56-1.2 and compressed natural gasfilling stations.

G. A water or sewer company that proposes to serve more than fifty customersshall incorporate as a public service company. A water or sewer company shallnot serve more than fifty customers unless its articles of incorporationstate that the corporation is to conduct business as a public servicecompany. The two preceding sentences shall not apply to a water or sewercompany incorporated before and operating a water or sewer system on January1, 1970; however, as to any water or sewer system serving more than fiftycustomers, upon application to the Commission by a majority of the customersor by the company, a hearing may be held after thirty days' notice to thecompany and the system's customers or a majority thereof, and the Commissionmay order such, if any, improvements or rate changes or both as are just andreasonable. Upon ordering into effect any rate changes or improvements foundto be just and reasonable, the water or sewer system shall remain subject tothe Commission's regulatory authority in the same manner as a public utilityfor such reasonable period as the Commission may direct. Nothing in thissubsection shall apply to persons described in § 56-1.2.

(Code 1950, § 13.1-50; 1956, c. 428; 1968, c. 110; 1970, c. 127; 1972, c.123; 1974, c. 285; 1976, c. 284; 1981, c. 285; 1985, c. 522; 1990, c. 488;1991, c. 263; 1993, cc. 61, 265, 419; 1995, c. 281; 1996, c. 16.)