Alabama and Uniform Law Commission, 1113 ALBJ, 74 The Alabama Lawyer 398 (2013)
| Author | Senator Cam Ward. |
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\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0What do banking regulations governed by the Uniform Commercial Code have in common with the rules that govern organ donations? What about the rules governing the management of charitable endowments and the law which governs how unclaimed property can be handled? The obvious answer is that Alabama has enacted laws on all these subjects. The less obvious answer is that all of these laws were drafted by the Uniform Law Commission.
\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Uniform laws have been part of the legal landscape in Alabama for more than a century. The first Uniform Act was adopted in Alabama more than 100 years ago: the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Law of 1896-the first uniform law adopted in every state-was adopted in Alabama in 1909. Since then, Alabama has enacted nearly 100 uniform acts, including the landmark Uniform Commercial Code, and, in recent years, the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act, the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, and the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. Uniform laws have an impact on the lives of Alabama citizens every day-from a simple transaction such as a child buying candy to a complex partnership agreement-these and many more transactions are governed by uniform laws. Although lawyers in Alabama use uniform laws every day, many are unfamiliar with the origins of these laws.
\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Uniform laws are the product of the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The ULC, a 121-year-old legal institution, has worked for the uniformity of state laws since 1892. The ULC was originally created by representatives of seven states as a way to consider state law, determine in which areas of the law uniformity is important and then draft uniform and model acts for consideration by the states. Alabama has been a member of the ULC since 1906.
\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0The ULC convenes as a body once a year, meeting for a period of seven or eight days, usually in July or August. At each annual meeting, proposed acts are read and debated, usually line by line, before all commissioners...
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