This blog post is the fourth in a series of blog posts highlighting changes in the 2009 Iowa Limited Liability Company Act. The new law applies to all LLCs filed in Iowa after January 1, 2009. The new LLC law will apply to older LLCs beginning on January 1, 2011 unless otherwise agreed by the members.

The new Iowa LLC law has a significant change relating to management. The current law provides that member voting is based upon capital contributions of the members. Generally, that means voting is based upon the percentages of the members and a member with 51% or more will control how the company is operated.

 However the default provision with the new LLC law is one member – one vote. This means that even a member with a minority percentage may have the ability to have as much management authority as an member that has a majority of the membership units. Accordingly, if a majority owner wants to maintain management control, the written operating agreement will need to specify such arrangement.

This may become even more important after January 1, 2011, when all LLC companies will need to comply with the new law. Some unsuspecting LLC majority owners may be surprised to learn that they may not be in control of their business unless an operating agreement specifies the majority interest controls.

This issue is just one of reasons I recommend that all LLC owners seek legal advice from a business attorney when forming an LLC under the new Iowa LLC act.