PROVISIONAL MEASURE # 1.961-24, OF June 26, 2000.

Provides on the Agrolivestock Production Cooperative Revitalization Program-RECOOP, authorizes the creation of the National Cooperativism-SESCOOP Learning Service, and gives other provider.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, in the use of the attribution that confers you the art. 62 of the Constitution, adopts the following Interim Measure, with force of law:

Art. 1º It is the Executive Power authorized to implement the Revitalization Program of Agrilivestock Production Cooperatives-RECOOP, observed the provisions of this Provisional Measure.

Art. 2º The credit operations under the RECOOP ampairing shall comply with the conditions laid down in the Annex to this Interim Measure.

§ 1º Credit transactions that it treats this article will have as a limit, following the negotiation of discounts with the respective creditors, the debtor balance of existing bank bonds on June 30, 1997, still to be, plus the resources required for payment of debts, existing on June 30, 1997 and not yet paid:

I-from acquisition of agri-animal inputs ;

II-with cooperates ;

III-labor and coming from tax and social obligations.

§ 2º To the amount ascertained in the form of the preceding paragraph and in accordance with the cooperative revitalization plan, the values intended for spin capital and essential investments and those receiving cooperation shall be increased, originating in credits constituted until June 30, 1997.

§ 3º The debtor balance of bank bonds and those receiving cooperation, to which they refer respectively, § § 1º and 2º of this article, will be updated in the following form:

I-until June 30, 1998, for the paced financial charges for normality situation ;

II-from 1º July 1998, to the date of the effective formalization of the new credit instruments:

a) those receiving cooperates, for the paced charges for normality situation or by interest of up to twelve per cent a year plus the Referential Rate-TR, the smallest of these two parameters ;

b) in the case of bank bonds, in accordance with the criteria below specified by source of the resources involved:

1. external caption features: currency variation plus interest up to twelve per cent per year, or paced fee in the contract if lower ;

2. repasses from BNDES: paced financial charges for normality situation ;

3. own resources or other sources not explained in the previous incisors: paced financial charges for normality situation, or interest of up to twelve percent a year plus the Referential-TR Rate, prevailing whatever is smaller.

§ 4º Are framework passenger in the operations to the RECOOP ampairing the existing bank debts on June 30, 1997, recognized in the independent audit opinion provided for in art. 3º, which, for any reason, have changed from accounting classification or financial institution accreditation, applying the provisions of the preceding paragraph for updating purposes.

§ 5º The credit operations of which this article will have grace of twenty-four months for the share of increased capital of the variation in the General Price Index-Internal Availability (IGP-DI), released by the Getúlio Foundation Vargas, and six months for the share of interest, when it comes to resources for settlement of debts with the financial system, with cooperates and arising from the acquisition of agri-livestock, tributes and social and labor charges, well as for funding for values received from cooperates.

§ 6º When it comes to credit for investments under the aegis of the RECOOP, the operation will have time-equivalent grace to the maturation of the project planned in the project, applicable to capital and financial burdens.

§ 7º Credit operations under the RECOOP amparo are considered to be rural credit for all purposes, it is up to the National Monetary Council to discipline the conditions and supplementary procedures that are shown to be necessary.

Art. 3º For habilitation to credit operations classified as of RECOOP, met the preliminary condition constant of the final part of the art. 5º, caput, will require independent audit opinion on the provenance of the values related to existing debts and of receiving cooperates, as well as the presentation of the cooperative development plan, approved in assembly extraordinary general by the majority of the cooperates, contemplating:

I-restructuring project demonstrating the technical and economic feasibility of the cooperative, with the direction of activities for the main focus of acting on an agroanian production cooperative and detention of unrelated assets with the main object of the society, among other aspects ;

II-capitalization project ;

III-project of professionalization of cooperative management ;

IV-project of organization and professionalization of the cooperates ;

V-project monitoring of the cooperative development plan.

Art. 4º The cooperative stakeholder in RECOOP funding should substantiate the approval, by the general assembly, of statutory reform, with the prediction of the following subjects:

I-fusion, dismemberment, incorporation or partnership, when necessary and as per the case ;

II-independent audit on the balance sheets and results statements of each financial year ;

III-guarantee of access of technicians designated by the Federal Government to data and information related to the implementation of the cooperative development plan ;

IV-term of the board of directors no longer than four years, the renewal of at least one third of the members is mandatory ;

V-ineligibility, for the board of directors and for the fiscal board:

a) of the associate who establish employment relationship with the cooperative, trade officer or legal person administrator who operates in one of the economic fields or who exercises one of the activities of the society, of their respective spouses, as well as of persons impeded by law or social status, in addition to those convicted of fourishing, prevarication, peita or bribery, concussion, peculiar or against the popular economy, public faith or property ;

b) of the spouse, ancestry, descendants or collateral up to the second degree, by consangüinity or affinity, of the members of the cooperative bodies of the cooperative ;

VI-ineligibility, for the board of directors, of the members of the fiscal board in exercise in the six months prior to the date of the election assembly ;

VII-sealing to administrators, thus understood the members of the board of directors and the executive board, of:

a) practise act of liberality at the expense of the cooperative ;

b) take on loan resources or goods from the company, or use, for the benefit of itself or third parties, their goods, services or credit, except in the absence of cooperative acts practiced between them and the cooperative ;

c) receive from associates or from third parties any direct or indirect benefit in function of the exercise of your office ;

d) participate in or influence deliberation on matters of personal interest, fulfilling them to state the reasons for their impediment ;

and) operate in any of the economic fields of the co-op or exercise activity by it ;

f) provide, under any pretext, even if upon taking prices or competition, goods or services to the company, except those concerning the cooperative acts practiced between them and the cooperative, extending such a prohibition to the spouses, ascenders, descendants and collaterals up to the second degree, by consangüinity or affinity ;

VIII-personal liability of the administrator for the damage that it causes to the cooperative, including with a requirement to return the received values, plus compensation charges, when proceeding:

a) with violation of the law or the statute ;

b) within your assignments or powers, with guilt or dolo ;

IX-liability of the members of the tax council for damages resulting from omission in the fulfillment of their duties and violation of the law or status and for acts practiced with guilt or dolo ;

X-prohibition of joint participation, in the administration bodies and in the tax council, of the spouse, ascendants, descendants and collateral up to the second degree, by consangüity or affinity, of the trustees or members of the board fiscal.

Art. 5º It is the authorised Executive Power to open credit line, up to the limit of R$ 2,100,000,000.00 (two billion and one hundred million reais), intended to fund RECOOP items of interest from cooperatives whose prior consultation has been welcomed, until July 31, 1998, by the Executive Committee instituted upon act of the Executive Power of January 23, 1998.

§ 1º RECOOP's credit operations that it treats this Provisional Measure and the constant discrimination in its Annex will be carried out:

I-with credit line features of which it treats the caput of this article, except for the situations framed in the subsequent inciso II and § 3º of this article ;

II-with resources from the North, North-East or Midwest Financing Constitutional Funds (FNO, FNE and FCO), in the case of cooperatives of these regions and as per their location, excluded plots intended for new investments and respected the provisions of § § 3º and 4º of this article ;

III-at risk of the financial institution, incumbent on this to substantiate the payment capacity and to demand the necessary guarantees, in line with the provisions of the rural credit, with the exception of the instalment intended for payment of debts together with the National Institute of Social Insurance-INSS, whose risk will be assigned to the National Treasury.

§ 2º The fiscal burden of the loans to the RECOOP, ressaved those carried out by the Funds mentioned in the following paragraph, shall be covered by cancellation of expenses for other programmes included in the General Budget of the Union.

§ 3º The repass contracts from the Cafeeira Economy Defense Fund (FUNCAFÉ) and the North, Northeast and Midwest Financing Constitutional Funds (FNO, FNE and FCO), when they are lastreading credit operations to the shelter from the RECOOP, will have their return deadlines and financial charges duly adjusted to these operations, running the burden on the respective Fund's account.

§ 4º In the case of cooperatives of the regions ampared by the aforementioned Constitutional Funds, they apply to credit operations, except on plots intended for new investments and on the values of securitization, charges financial customarily by them practiced or, at the choice of the cooperatives in the act of the signature of the credit instrument, in definitive character, those set out in the Annex of this Provisional Measure.

Art. 6º It shall be the Union authorized, at its sole discretion and under the terms established by the Minister of State for Finance, to take part in the risks of the investment financing operations and the spin capital of which it treats this Medida Provisional, up to the amount of R$ 300,000,000.00 (three hundred million reais).

Art. 7º The returns on credit operations, of which this Provisional Measure, when lasered by resources passed by the National Treasury, will be earmarked for the abatement of public debt.

Art. 8º The creation of the National Learning Service of Cooperativism-SESCOOP, with legal personality of private law, composed of entities linked to the union system, shall be authorized, without prejudice to the supervision of the application of its resources by the Court of Auditors of the Union, with the aim of organizing, administering and executing throughout the national territory the vocational education, development and social promotion of the worker in co-op and of the cooperates.

Single Paragraph. For the development of its activities, SESCOOP will tell with centers of its own or will act in the form of cooperation with public or private bodies.

Art. 9º The SESCOOP will be directed by a National Council, with the following composition:

I-a representative of the Ministry of Labour and Employment ;

II-a representative of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Social Assistance ;

III-a representative of the Ministry of Finance ;

IV-a representative of the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management ;

V-a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Supply ;

VI-five representatives of the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives-OCB, including its President ;

VII-a representative of the workers in cooperative societies.

§ 1º The SESCOOP will be chaired by the Chairman of the OCB, which shall be entitled in the deliberations only to the quality vote.

§ 2º Poor shall be created regional councils in the form that is to be established in the SESCOOP region.

Art. 10. They constitute recipes from SESCOOP:

I-compulsory monthly contribution, to be collected, from 1º January 1999, by Social Security, of two comma five per cent on the amount of remuneration paid to all employees by the cooperatives ;

II-donations and legacies ;

III-voluntary grants from the Union, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities ;

IV-rents arising from the provision of services, the disposal or rental of their goods ;

V-operating revenues ;

VI-pecuniary penalties.

§ 1º The contribution referred to in the inciso I of this article shall be collected by Social Security, applying to it the same conditions, time limits, penalties and privileges, including with respect to the judicial collection, applicable to the contributions to Social Security, being your product put at the disposal of SESCOOP.

§ 2º The said contribution is instituted in substitution to the contributions, of the same species, due and collected by the cooperative societies and, until December 31, 1998, intended for:

I-National Industrial Learning Service-SENAI ;

II-Social Service of Industry-SESI ;

III-National Commercial Learning Service-SENAC ;

IV-Social Service of Trade-SESC ;

V-National Transportation Learning Service-SENAT ;

VI-Social Service of Transport-SEST ;

VII-National Rural Learning Service-SENAR.

§ 3º As of 1º January 1999, cooperatives are unobliged to collect contributions to the entities mentioned in § 2º, in excess of those of competence by the month of December 1998 and the respective charges, fines and interest.

Art. 11. The Executive Power, within the up to one hundred and eighty days, will establish conditions for:

I-develop monitoring, supervision, auditing, and control systems of the application of public resources in the cooperative system ;

II-evaluate the Brazilian cooperative system model by formulating measures for its improvement.

Art. 12. The organization and operation of the SESCOOP will build in regiment, which will be approved in act of the Executive Power.

Art. 13. The Executive Power shall regulate the provisions of this Provisional Measure.

Art. 14. The acts practiced on the basis of the Provisional Measure No. 1.961-23, of May 26, 2000, shall be convalidated.

Art. 15. This Provisional Measure comes into force on the date of its publication.

Brasilia, June 26, 2000 ; 179º of Independence and 112º of the Republic.

FERNANDO HENRIQUE CARDOSO

Pedro Malan

Marcus Vinicius Pratini of Moraes

Martus Tavares