Section 14-2-1701. Application of chapter

   (a) Subject to the limitations of subsection (b) of this Code section, this chapter shall apply:

   (1) To all corporations for profit, existing on or formed after July 1, 1989, including corporations for profit organized under or subject to any prior general corporation law of this state;

   (2) To all corporations for profit created by special Act of the General Assembly as to which power has been reserved to withdraw the franchise;

   (3) To any corporation, organization, professional association, or association, to the extent that the former general corporation law of this state or any of its provisions or this chapter or any of its provisions specifically have been or shall be made applicable to the corporation, organization, professional association, or association; and

   (4) To any corporation organized under any statute of this state or if it were originally created by special Act of the General Assembly without reservation of power to withdraw the franchise, if under any prior general corporation law of this state the corporation either has amended its charter or has been a party to a merger or a consolidation, and also to any corporation which after July 1, 1989, in an amendment to its articles of incorporation or restatement of its articles of incorporation or in a merger, elects to be subject to this chapter. Any corporation to which this chapter applies by reason of this paragraph shall have all the rights, privileges, franchises, immunities, and powers and shall be subject to all the duties, liabilities, and disabilities of a corporation to which this chapter applies as well as of the statute or special Act by which the corporation was originally created; but in the event of a conflict between the statute or special Act and this chapter, the statute or special Act shall govern.

(b) This chapter shall not apply:

   (1) To corporations organized under a statute of this state other than either this chapter or any prior general corporation law, except to the extent that the former general corporation law or any of its provisions or this chapter or any of its provisions specifically have been or shall be made applicable to those corporations;

   (2) To any corporation originally created by special Act of the General Assembly as to which power has not been reserved to withdraw the franchise, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this Code section;

   (3) To any corporation originally created by an Act of the General Assembly as to which power has been reserved to withdraw the franchise, if the purpose of the corporation would require its organization to take place under a statute other than this chapter if it were being organized after July 1, 1989, except to the extent that the former general corporation law of this state or any of its provisions or this chapter or any of its provisions specifically have been or shall be made applicable to corporations organized for that purpose;

   (4) To any public authority created by an Act of the General Assembly, except to the extent that the former general corporation law of this state or any of its provisions or this chapter or any of its provisions specifically have been or shall be made applicable to the public authority; or

   (5) To corporations of any class, to the extent that the class is specifically exempted from this chapter or any of its provisions.

(c) This chapter shall not impair the existence of any corporation existing on July 1, 1989. Any existing corporation to which this chapter is applicable and its shareholders, directors, and officers shall have the same rights and be subject to the same limitations, restrictions, liabilities, and penalties as a corporation formed under this chapter and its shareholders, directors, and officers.

(d) If the articles of incorporation, charter, or bylaws of a corporation in existence on July 1, 1989, contain any provisions that were not authorized or permitted by the prior general corporation law of this state but which are authorized or permitted by this chapter, the provisions of the articles of incorporation, charter, or bylaws shall be valid on and from that date, and action may be taken on and from that date in reliance on those provisions. If the articles of incorporation, charter, or bylaws of a corporation in existence on July 1, 1989, contain any provisions that were authorized or permitted by the prior general corporation law of this state, that were validly adopted under the law in effect at the time of their adoption, and that are authorized or permitted by this chapter, the provisions of the articles of incorporation, charter, or bylaws shall continue to be valid on and from that date, whether or not this chapter imposes requirements for the adoption of such provisions that are different from those in effect at the time the provisions were adopted.

(e) This chapter shall apply to commerce with foreign nations and among the several states only insofar as the application may be permitted under the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Code 1981, § 14-2-1701, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1070, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1231, § 26.