Utah Bar Journal

Last winter I was appointed to the Utah Commission on Uniform State Laws by Governor Huntsman. The appointment was a bit of a surprise, since I didn’t know I was up for it, nobody asked me, and I heard about it after my appointment had been confirmed by the Senate. Don’t get me wrong: I am delighted to have the opportunity; just surprised. Unfortunately, at the time of my appointment I had a rather limited understanding of what a commissioner on the Utah Commission on Uniform State Laws did. Now I know. I thought it might be useful to share my newly acquired knowledge with others who encounter uniform state laws periodically.

Each state decides how, and if, it will sponsor a commission on uniform laws. Most states have done so by statute, as has Utah.1 Commissioners are required to be lawyers, and are appointed by the Governor. One is drawn from the House, one from the Senate, and two from the general bar. The Legislative General Counsel is automatically a commissioner. State commissioners exist for two primary purposes: First, they assemble annually with the commissioners from the other states to consider and recommend to the individual states the enactment of uniform state laws in areas of common interest and concern, which they may have helped to draft as part of a drafting committee. Second, they mobilize the effort to have proposed uniform acts adopted by their home state legislature.

The expressed purpose of the national organization, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), is to “promote uniformity among the several States on subjects as to which uniformity is desirable and practicable.”2 The selection of issues for uniform law consideration is made at the combined national level of the organization, and drafting and approval is a function of national subcommittees and the annual meeting. Much to my surprise, the annual conference is engaged in review and debate on proposed uniform act language to a remarkable extent. Sessions of the conference meet seven or eight hours each day as a ‘committee of the whole’ for line by line reading of any new or amended language, followed by spirited debate. Friday, Saturday, a half day Sunday, and all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are devoted to that careful and informed review. Each proposed uniform act is presented at two annual meetings in a row. The first year it is presented for broad discussion and general direction to the drafting committee. The second year a proposed act is presented in something akin to final form, and essentially defended by the drafting committee from questions and concerns of the other commissioners during the committee of the whole meetings. Both readings and votes of approval are required before commissioners move an act toward legislative action in the states.

The “national” decision-making bodies are composed entirely of state commissioners. The drafting committees are composed of commissioners with the occasional help of experts in the field, who may serve as part of the drafting committees, along with advisors from the relevant ABA sections. In this world of electronic communication, much of the drafting is done without meeting. However, periodic meetings of committees to actively debate critical issues, and to hammer out proposed language, are a critical part of the process.

The history of the ULC is long, and distinguished. Membership has included legislators of distinction, law professors, members of the state and federal judiciary (including at least two United States Supreme Court members, Rehnquist and Brandeis), and practitioners expert in their fields. Formed 116 years ago as an offshoot of the American Bar Association, it has attempted to provide states with nonpartisan, well-conceived, well-written legislation on topics of common need and application. Generally, only areas of law already addressed by states are subject to ULC action. The primary effort is to clarify existing law, not lead the states into new areas of policy. The Uniform Commercial Code is a prime example of the ULC’s work, as is the Uniform Probate Code. Both are the subjects of current refinement by the ULC.

Each state commission is asked to consider the pending uniform and model acts approved by the conference, and select those appropriate for action in their own jurisdiction. With a senior member of the Utah Senate, Senator Lyle Hillyard, as chair of the Utah delegation, and with House Speaker Greg Curtis as the other legislative member appointed by the Governor, the Utah commission has an enviable record of moving uniform legislation along. Each year, the Utah commission members meet to identify those measures thought worthy of legislative attention.

As a result of the July meetings in Big Sky, the Utah Commission on Uniform State Laws is considering action on the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, the Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, the Revised Limited Partnership Act, revisions to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the Uniform Principal and Income Act, the Uniform International Wills Act, the Uniform Foreign Country Money Judgments Recognition Act, the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and the Uniform Debt Management Services Act.3 Each of these was considered in detail at the July conference. Our commission will ask appropriate bar sections and court committees to examine the proposed acts for Utah-specific consideration. With that review, most of these uniform law proposals will likely see introduction in the legislature, and ultimately adoption as part of our state law. Such has been the history to date.

You may find the work of the ULC interesting. You may not. But I’m confident you will encounter the end product in everyday practice. I am honored to be a part of the effort. I know the other Utah commission members are as well. Please feel free to direct your comments and thoughts to any one of them. I’d take your call, but I’m still trying to catch my breath.

1. Utah Commission on Uniform State Laws, Section 68-4-1, et seq., Utah Code. Our current commission members are Senator Lyle Hillyard, chair; Speaker Greg Curtis, Reed Martineau, myself, Legislative General Counsel John Fellows, and life-member (more than 20 years service) Gay Taylor-Jones.

2. The Constitution, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Article I, Section 1.2.

3. Copies of these are available from the ULC at www.nccusla.org under the “final acts and legislation” tab.