Sec. 9. 13 MRSA §3025, as amended by PL 1977, c. 696, §158, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§3025.__Filing of certificate; change of name; filing duty

of the Secretary of State

1.__Certificate.__The clerk, treasurer and a majority of the board of trustees of every independent local church incorporated under sections 3021 to 3024 shall prepare, sign, date and deliver for filing with the Secretary of State a certificate of incorporation, in the format approved by the Secretary of State, setting forth the name of the church, the town or city where the church is located and the number and names of the members of its board of trustees. A filing fee of $5 must accompany the certificate.

2.__Change of certificate.__The name of any incorporated church or any other provision in the certificate of incorporation filed under subsection 1 may be changed by vote in a legal meeting duly called for this purpose.__The clerk or other duly authorized officer of the corporation shall prepare, sign, date and deliver for filing with the Secretary of State a certificate, in the format approved by the Secretary of State, setting forth the name of the church, the town or city where the church is located, the date and the nature of the change and a statement that a majority of the members or trustees authorized the change.__ A filing fee of $5 must accompany the certificate.

3.__Filing certificate.__If a certificate delivered for filing with the Secretary of State pursuant to this section satisfies the requirements of this chapter, the Secretary of State shall file the certificate.__The date of filing is the date of receipt by the Secretary of State.__After filing any certificate under this chapter, the Secretary of State shall deliver to the corporation or its representative a copy of the document with an acknowledgement of the date of filing.

SUMMARY

This bill eliminates duplicate filings with the Registry of Deeds for documents filed by nonprofit corporations formed under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 13, chapters 81 and 93. This bill also streamlines the filing requirements with the Secretary of State to be consistent with the filing requirements for other nonprofit corporations formed under Title 13-B.