List of Uniform Acts (United States)

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In the United States, a Uniform Act or "Uniform Law" is a proposed state law drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL).

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[edit] Drafting of uniform acts

In the United States, a Uniform Act or "Uniform Law" is a proposed state law drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The NCCUSL is a body of lawyers, both private practitioners and government attorneys; judges, both state and federal; and law professors, typically appointed by the governor of each state. NCCUSL drafts laws on a variety of subjects and propose them for enactment by each state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. NCCUSL was established in 1892. The NCCUSL does not have any legislative power itself; uniform acts become laws only to the extent they are enacted into law by state legislatures.

Among the most influential uniform acts are the Uniform Commercial Code, Uniform Probate Code, Uniform Trust Code, Uniform Partnership Act, Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, Uniform Certification of Questions of Law Act, Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Uniform Arbitration Act, Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, Uniform Conservation Easements Act, Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, and Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. However, there are well over 100 uniform acts. NCCUSL periodically updates these acts. Recent examples include the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, Revised Uniform Arbitration Act, Revised Uniform Partnership Act, Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, and the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act. The NCCUSL website should be consulted for the latest uniform acts or revisions thereof.

The need for Uniform Acts results in large part from the inherent nature of the American federal system. The United States Congress lacks authority under the U.S. Constitution to directly legislate in many areas, because all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government are reserved to state governments under the Tenth Amendment. At the same time, there is a desire to have laws across the states that are as similar as practicable. The widespread enactment of uniform state laws have reduced the preemption of state law by federal legislation.

[edit] Non-NCCUSL model laws

[edit] Model Penal Code

The Model Penal Code, which seeks to harmonize state criminal law statutes, is in effect a uniform act but it was developed by the American Law Institute and not the NCCUSL.

[edit] Other model laws

The Uniform Auction and Auctioneer Licensing Act[1] (2006) is a sample law, proposed by the National Auctioneers Association, intended to be used by states as a template when drafting their own legislation governing auctions and auctioneers.[2]

Other notable non-NCCUSL model laws include the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act, the Model Business Corporation Act, and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

[edit] References

[edit] External links