The Alternatives to Bail Drafting Committee will draft state legislation addressing alternatives to bail in the criminal justice system. Money bail is one of the tools used by courts to ensure that a person accused of committing a crime will return to court for trial and is common in most places throughout the U.S. Among matters that have been suggested to the Drafting Committee to consider are: the encouragement of the use of citations in lieu of arrest for minor offenses; early appointment of counsel; implementation of pretrial risk assessment screening, and individualized determinations of release or detention; prohibiting the use of money bail as a mechanism to trigger preventative detention; and limiting the use of preventative detention.
The Committee on Liaison with the American Bar Association is charged with the responsibility of fostering cooperation, better understanding and improved relations between the ULC and the ABA.
The Committee on Liaison with American Indian Tribes and Nations, in addition to providing a general liaison function for the introduction of applicable Uniform and Model Acts into tribal codes and assisting tribes in developing tribal codes, is currently drafting a Model Tribal Probate Code with participation by tribal attorneys and council members as well as Indian Law scholars. The Committee previously drafted a version of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code suitable for use by tribal governments, which has been adopted by a number of tribes and nations. The Committee will continue to explore and undertake other drafting projects for use by Indian tribes and nations.”
The Committee to Monitor Developments in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution was created to monitor developments and trends in civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution, to provide information to the Scope and Program and Executive Committees about these issues, to offer suggestions of issues that may be appropriate for uniform state law, and to offer suggestions on whether current ULC acts in this area should be revised, amended or withdrawn.
This drafting committee will draft a uniform or model law addressing the collection and use of personally identifiable data, including provisions governing the sharing, storage, security, and control of the personal data of others. The collection and use of personal data are important features of our modern economy, but raise significant issues of privacy and control. A uniform or model act on this subject would serve as a comprehensive legal framework for the treatment of data privacy.
This drafting committee will develop revisions to the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (UCIOA) and the Uniform Condominium Act (UCA). UCIOA deals comprehensively with the complex issues posed in condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities – the three forms of real estate ownership in which multiple persons each own a separate parcel of real estate, and all those persons collectively own other parcels of real estate in common. The ULC has devoted substantial resources for more than 50 years to the regulation of these forms of shared real estate ownership and has a significant interest in making sure that both UCIOA and UCA are kept up to date.
The Study Committee on Covenants not to Compete will study the need for and feasibility of a uniform or model law governing covenants not to compete in employment and related contexts.
The Criminal Justice Reform Committee monitors the need for and feasibility of model and uniform state laws that effectuate criminal justice reform and serves as an advisory committee to the Committee on Scope and Program on potential and emerging legislative developments in criminal justice reform. The Committee may be asked to review and consider proposals for criminal justice reform work, but also should consider and when appropriate present proposals to Scope and Program for necessary and feasible uniform or model state laws.
This committee will study the need for and feasibility of state legislation on default judgments in debt collection cases brought by third-party debt collectors and debt buyers. Significant changes in debt collection practices in recent years have resulted in dramatic growth in the industry which, in turn, has placed considerable pressure on court dockets and raised concerns about fairness to debtors. These developments may justify a model or uniform law to regulate the processes and information required before the entry of a default judgment in debt collection cases.
This drafting committee will revise the Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act, originally promulgated in 1971 and adopted in 16 states. The act provides rules for disposing of a decedent’s property, originally acquired as community property, when the decedent’s estate is probated in a non-community property state. This act is intended to be enacted only in common-law property states. The Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Acts recommended updating the act to address recent legal developments.
This committee will study the need for and feasibility of state legislation governing the disposition of human embryos and gametes at divorce, separation, or death.
This committee will draft a law addressing the circumstances and conditions under which a non-utility easement may be relocated.
The Drafting Committee on Economic Rights of Unmarried Cohabitants will draft a uniform or model law to standardize the economic rights of unmarried cohabitants. The rate of nonmarital cohabitation within the U.S. is increasing, but there is no consistent legal doctrine among the states for division of jointly acquired property when cohabitants break up or when one cohabitant dies. Instead, courts must resolve disputes on a case-by-case basis.
The Drafting Committee on Electronic Registry for Residential Mortgage Notes will, if necessary, develop a uniform electronic registry for residential mortgage notes that will be national in its effect, taking into account the appropriate relationship between the registry and other law. The development of securitization as a common practice with regard to residential mortgage notes has created the need for a more efficient and less costly means than the current paper-based rules of UCC Article 3 to identify who is entitled to enforce a residential mortgage note and how the debt evidenced by the note is transferred.
The Drafting Committee on Electronic Wills will draft a uniform act or model law addressing the formation, validity and recognition of electronic wills, with appropriate technology-based safeguards to ensure the integrity of these documents for admission to probate.
The Study Committee on Event Data Recorders in Cars is studying the need for and feasibility of uniform or model state legislation concerning event data recorders and all generated vehicle data. The committee has considered the issues raised by the installation of data recorders in vehicles, including privacy issues; disclosure requirements; ownership of data; use of EDR data as evidence; access to and data retrieval for use by law enforcement or others; use required by or retrieved by insurers; and use of EDR data as evidence in legal proceedings.
The Executive Committee is the ULC’s governing board and has the responsibility for implementing the policies adopted by the ULC at its meetings, and all the duties and powers prescribed by the Constitution and Bylaws.
This committee will consider the need for and feasibility of a uniform or model law addressing the impact of fines and fees on people of limited means. The impact of fines and fees on those with means can be a mere inconvenience, but for the poor and working poor who are unable to pay, those same fines and fees can be devastating, resulting in thousands of dollars of debt and functioning as a poverty trap. The committee will consider three major areas which might be addressed in a uniform or model law: (1) suspension of driving privileges because of unpaid fines and fees even when unrelated to public safety; (2) fines and fees imposed on juveniles and their parents in the juvenile justice system; and (3) fines and fees imposed without consideration of ability to pay because of adult criminal offenses.
Crowdfunding is the practice of raising funds via the internet, through web sites designed for that purpose. When the amount of funds raised is large, certain legal issues can arise involving the management and use of funds, particularly when the total funding exceeds the amount needed to accomplish the stated goal. The committee is drafting an act to address these issues.
The Committee to Monitor Developments in Healthcare Law was formed to study and monitor any developments in health care law, provide information to the ULC about these issues, offer suggestions of issues that may be appropriate for uniform state laws, and to offer suggestions and input, upon request, to the ULC about healthcare law and related issues.
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