Sec. 161.055.  FILING AND RECORDING OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.  (a)  The secretary of state shall receive articles of incorporation of an electric cooperative if the incorporators of the cooperative:
(1)  apply for filing the articles;
(2)  furnish satisfactory evidence of compliance with this chapter to the secretary of state;  and
(3)  pay a fee of $10.
(b)  The secretary of state shall:
(1)  file the articles of incorporation in the secretary's office;
(2)  record the articles at length in a book to be kept for that purpose;
(3)  retain the original articles of incorporation on file in the secretary's office;  and
(4)  issue a certificate showing the recording of the articles of incorporation and the electric cooperative's authority to do business under the articles.
(c)  A copy of the articles of incorporation or of the record of the articles, certified under the state seal, is evidence of the creation of the electric cooperative.
(d)  The existence of the electric cooperative dates from the filing of the articles in the office of the secretary of state.  The certificate of the secretary of state is evidence of that filing.
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.