• Mission & Governance
• Services Overview
• How to Get Involved
• Standing Committees
• NCSL Foundation

• Issue Areas: A-Z
• State-Federal Relations
• NCSL Standing Committees
• News from D.C. and the States

• About State Legislatures
• Elections, Campaigns & Redistricting
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory
• Web Sites

• Online Guide to NCSL Services
• Staff Sections and Networks
• Meetings & Professional Development
• Staff Directories

• Meetings Calendar
• Online Registration
• Meetings Home Page
• Legislative Summit

• Bookstore
• State Legislatures Magazine
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL)

May, 2008

By: E.M. Miller, Jr.

Uniform Law Commissioner

What is this incorrectly and lengthy titled international organization that dares to meet at the time as the NCSL annual meeting?  The conference dates back to 1892 and "provides states with nonpartisan well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of the law."  With these "good" bills in the hands of the states' legislatures, it is envisioned by the conference that their subsequent passage by the fifty states will "facilitate the movement of individuals and the business of organizations with rules that are consistent from state to state."

The constitution of NCCUSL requires each of its members to be licensed as an attorney in at least one state.  These lawyers are representative of the private practice sector, the state and federal bench, law school faculty, and the director of each state's bill drafting agency.  The conference gets its international title due to the fact that Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are participatory governments. 

I count 161 differently titled model acts that have been drafted and recommended for passage by the conference.  Many of these 161 acts have undergone multiple revisions or amendments.  For example, the Probate Code has experienced 12 rewrites or amendments over the many years since its original enactment.  The uniform act that the conference holds in greatest esteem is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).  The UCC, the pillar of legal guidance for the business community, is guarded and under constant review by the conference.

Each member jurisdiction decides the appropriate number of commissioners to represent each government and the method and means of their appointment.  Also, NCCUSL receives a major portion of its financial support from individual state appropriations.  In addition, fees are collected from each member for attendance at the annual meeting of the conference.  The conference is where a significant amount of the work for the final product on each bill takes place.  Prior to the annual meeting, a study committee and subsequent thereto, a drafting committee, has spent untold hours putting a preliminary draft together for review at the annual meeting.

A good analogy for what takes place at an annual meeting is the typical work that takes place in your own Reviser of Statutes office, if your state has such an entity.  In Virginia, a recodification of an entire statutory code title requires a rewrite of each code section, chapter by chapter.  The Virginia Code Commission members review each section in each chapter until the title has been completely rewritten and reviewed.  NCCUSL follows a similar process, reviewing each proposed draft at the annual meeting through a word by word analysis.  At best, it is tedious and labor intensive work.  At worst, this is not fun.  The end product, however, is a well drafted bill that has been reviewed by many eyes and discussed through many mediums.  The draft is read in its entirety at two annual meetings prior to a vote by the states as to whether the bill be adopted as a model act.  This process, in brief, is what NCCUSL is all about.  There are many other facets to the NCCUSL process for bill preparation, such as the Scope and Program committee review that determines whether the general subject matter under consideration is "ripe" for uniform law adoption.

Also, various drafting committees go through one or more years of labor to develop a preliminary draft of a bill prior to presentation at an annual meeting.  All concerned parties and interest holders are gathered around the table for open discussions of various components of the bill draft, what it must contain and how it will operate from a practical point of view.  This process not only produces a quality initial draft, but produces "buy in" from the "stakeholders and special interest groups."

"NCCUSL is a unique institution that is rooted in and created by state governments."  Should you need information about NCCUSL not covered in this article, please contact me or visit the NCCUSL website at www.nccusl.org.  The website also contains copies of bills currently under consideration and those previously adopted by the conference.  If you ever have an opportunity to become part of this prestigious group, do not turn it down as it is an educational and rewarding experience.

Legislator and Legislative Staff Representatives to the NCCUSL

Legislators:
Rep. Cam Ward	Alabama
Sen. Dick Ackerman	California
Sen. Ken Gordon	Colorado
Rep. Anne McGihon	Colorado
Rep. Ralph Foley	Indiana
Sen. Vi Simpson	Indiana
Rep. Michael R. O’Neal	Kansas
Rep. Janice Pauls	Kansas
Rep. David Law	Michigan
Sen. Bruce Patterson	Michigan
Rep. Gretchen Whitmer	Michigan
Rep. William C. Horne	Nevada
Sen. Cisco McSorley	New Mexico
Rep. William Kretschmar	North Dakota
Sen. Dave Nething	North Dakota
Rep. Rex Duncan	Oklahoma
Rep. Fausto C. Anguilla	Rhode Island
Rep. Greg J. Curtis	Utah
Sen. Lyle Hillyard	Utah
Rep. David Cullen	Wisconsin
Rep. Mark D. Gundrum	Wisconsin
Sen. Fred A. Risser	Wisconsin
Legislative Staff:
Jerry Bassett, Legislative Reference Service	Alabama
Bob McCurley, Law Institute	Alabama
Tamara  Cook, Legislative Affairs Agency	Alaska
Vincent Henderson, Bureau of Legislative Research	Arkansas
Diane Boyer-Vine, Office of Legislative Counsel	California
Brian Hebert, Law Revision Commission	California
Charley Pike, Office of Legislative Services	Colorado
Jim McKay, Office of the Attorney General	District of Columbia
Sewell Brumby, Office of Legislative Counsel	Georgia
Maurice Kato, Dept. of the Attorney General	Hawaii
Ken Takayama, Legislative Reference Bureau	Hawaii
Paige Parker, Legislative Services	Idaho
Richard Edwards, Legislative Reference Bureau	Illinois
John Stieff, Legislative Services Agency	Indiana
Ann Zimmer, Legislative Research Commission	Kentucky
William Crawford, Law Institute	Louisiana
Jerry Guillot, State Senate	Louisiana
Kerry Triche, Law Institute	Louisiana
Margaret Matheson, Office of Revisor of Statutes	Maine
John Strand, Legislative Services Office	Michigan
Michele Timmons, Office of Revisor of Statutes	Minnesota
Robert Davidson, Legislative Services Office	Mississippi
William Neely, State Senate	Mississippi
C.J. Richardson, Legislative Services Office	Mississippi
Teresa Tiller, House Legislative Services Office	Mississippi
Will Wilkins, Law Research Institute	Mississippi
Patty Buxton, Commission on Legislative Research	Missouri
Gregory Petesch, Legislative Services Division	Montana
Joanne Pepperl, Office of Revisor of Statutes	Nebraska
Brenda Erdoes, Legislative Counsel Bureau	Nevada
Kevin Powers, Legislative Counsel Bureau	Nevada
Bradley Wilkinson, Legislative Counsel Bureau	Nevada
Paula Tackett, Legislative Council	New Mexico
Jason Cooper, Legislative Bill Drafting Commission	New York
Floyd Lewis, Dept. of Justice	North Carolina
Jay Buringrud, Legislative Council	North Dakota
Michael Burns, Legislative Services Commission	Ohio
Sue Ann Derr, House of Representatives	Oklahoma
Fred Morgan, Senate	Oklahoma
Vincent DeLiberato, Legislative Reference Bureau	Pennsylvania
Francisco Domenech, Office of Legislative Services	Puerto Rico
John O’Connor, Office of Legislative Council	Rhode Island
Steve Draffin, Legislative Council	South Carolina
Jess Hale, Office of Legal Services	Tennessee
Rita Arneil, Legislative Council	Texas
Lisa Moorhead-Harris, Legislature	U.S. Virgin Islands
Yvonne Tharpes, Legislature	U.S. Virgin Islands
John Fellows, Office of Legislative Research	Utah
Gay Taylor-Jones, Office of Legislative Research	Utah
William Russell, Legislative Council	Vermont
Jescey French, Division of Legislative Services	Virginia
E.M. Miller, Division of Legal Services	Virginia
Kyle Thiessen, Office of Code Revisor	Washington
Terry Anderson, Legislative Council	Wisconsin
Richard Champagne, Legislative Reference Bureau	Wisconsin
Bruce Munson, Revisor of Statutes	Wisconsin