Uniform Laws are carefully drafted model laws for potential enactment by state legislatures. State legislatures can reject them, enact them in entirety, or enact them with modifications.
Uniform Laws are authored by the Uniform Law Commission ("ULC") formerly known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (“NCCUSL”). Membership in ULC comprises noted lawyers, judges, legislators, and law professors. They aim to promote uniformity of state law. Since its founding in 1892, ULC has drafted over 250 Uniform Laws.
Model Acts and Model Codes are similar to Uniform Laws but may be proposed by any individual or organization including the American Bar Association, the American Law Institute, and ULC. In comparison to Uniform Laws, Model Acts are generally used as a basis for designing state laws. They are rarely enacted in entirety.
The drafting process for a Uniform Law takes at least two years; some have taken 15 years. Successive drafts, along with transcripts of proceedings from the annual meeting and the prefatory notes preceding the final act indicate the drafters' intent and context.
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