National Conference of Commissioners On Uniform State Laws - Procedure For Drafting and Promulgating Proposed Uniform Laws

Procedure For Drafting and Promulgating Proposed Uniform Laws

"It must be emphasized that the Conference can only propose—no uniform law is effective until a state legislature adopts it."

It takes years for the Conference to create a uniform act or model act. The Scope and Program Committee, which initiates the agenda of the Conference, investigates each proposed act and then reports to the Executive Committee with its recommendations. If the Executive Committee approves a recommendation a drafting committee of commissioners is appointed. Drafting committees meet throughout the year. Tentative drafts are not submitted to the entire Conference until they have received extensive committee review and consideration.

Draft acts are then submitted for initial debate of the entire Conference at its annual meeting. Each act must be considered section by section at no less than two annual meetings by all commissioners sitting as a Committee of the Whole. The commissioners offer amendments and corrections to the text. It is rare for a draft act to leave an annual meeting in the same form as it was initially presented.

Once the Committee of the Whole approves an act it is presented for a vote by the states. Each of the 53 state and territory delegations caucuses its members and casts one vote. The proposed act must be approved by no less than 20 jurisdictions and by a majority of the states and territories present before it can be officially adopted as a uniform or model act.

At this point the act is officially promulgated for consideration by the states and territories. Legislatures are urged to adopt uniform acts exactly as written to "promote uniformity in the law among the jurisdictions adopting the act." Model acts are designed to serve as a guideline for legislation that states and territories can borrow from or adapt to suit their individual needs and conditions.

Once an act is adopted by the Conference, it is presented to the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association for its endorsement. Upon its endorsement, the Legislative Council of the Conference advocates the adoption of the act in the various states and territories.

The work of the Conference simplifies the legal life of businesses and individuals by providing rules and procedures that are consistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Representing both state and territorial government and the legal profession, it has sought to bring uniformity to the divergent legal traditions of 53 sovereign jurisdictions, and has done so with significant success.