July 26, 2024 - The Executive Committee of the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) has recently authorized the appointment of two new drafting committees and five new study committees.
The new drafting committees are:
Drafting Committee on Indian Child Welfare Act Issues. This committee will draft, with the participation of tribes and tribal leaders, a uniform or model act to incorporate the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its implementing regulations into state law, and to include additional provisions on related issues that are not fully addressed in the federal ICWA or regulations. It is contemplated that the Drafting Committee will consider proposals and approaches taken in ICWA itself and other existing state laws related to ICWA.
Drafting Committee on Nonconsensual Pornographic Deepfakes. This committee will consider amendments to the Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images or draft a uniform or model act that forbids producing or distributing fabricated images that depict, without their consent, identifiable persons naked or having sex.
The new study committees are:
Study Committee on Earned Wage Advances. This committee will study the need for and feasibility of a uniform or model act governing earned wage advances. Earned wage advance companies work with employers to give employees access to wages that have been earned but not yet paid, with the agreement that the employer will deduct those funds from the employees next paycheck. Those states that have begun to regulate earned wage advances have taken varying approaches, with only some states treating earned wage advances as loans.
Study Committee on Mental Privacy, Cognitive Biometrics, and Neural Data. With rapid growth in the fields of neurotechnologies, AI, and immersive technologies, states have begun to develop legislation addressing mental privacy; the aggregation, collection, and potential misuse of neural data; and the use of biometrics for inferring brain and mental states. This committee will explore the interrelation between existing biometric laws and emerging needs pertaining to neural data and cognitive biometrics in order to assess the need for and feasibility of a uniform or model act.
Study Committee on Updates to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. This committee will study the need for and feasibility of drafting amendments to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA). The UTSA, originally promulgated in 1979 and enacted in 51 jurisdictions, provides a legal framework for trade secret protection. The study committee will review this area of the law since the Act s promulgation to determine if updates are needed for the UTSA.
Study Committee on Doxing. This committee will study the need for and feasibility of a uniform or model act on doxing. The study committee will thoroughly analyze the extent to which the First Amendment or Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act would limit state legislation on the topic.
Study Committee on Commercial Law Framework for Voluntary Carbon Credits. This committee will study the need for and feasibility of a uniform or model act on the commercial law framework for voluntary carbon credits, including whether the subject matter is already covered by the Uniform Commercial Code or other law.
Further information on all current drafting and study committees, as well as information on the Uniform Law Commission, can be found at the ULC's website at www.uniformlaws.org.
Study Committees review an assigned area of law in light of defined criteria and recommend whether ULC should proceed with a draft on that subject. Drafting committees, composed of commissioners, with participation from observers, advisors and reporter-drafters, meet throughout the year. Tentative drafts are not submitted to the entire Commission until they have received extensive committee consideration.
Proposed acts are subjected to rigorous examination and debate before they become eligible for designation as ULC products. The final decision on whether an act is ready for promulgation to the states is made near the close of an annual meeting, on a vote by states basis, with an affirmative vote of twenty or more states necessary for final approval.
The Uniform Law Commission, now in its 133rd year, provides states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law. The organization comprises more than 300 lawyers, judges, and law professors, appointed by the states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to research, draft and promote enactment of uniform state laws in areas of state law where uniformity is desirable and practical. Since its inception in 1892, the group has promulgated more than 200 acts, among them such bulwarks of state statutory law as the Uniform Commercial Code, the Uniform Probate Code, and the Uniform Partnership Act.
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Contact: Katie Robinson, ULC Senior Director, Strategy & Communications, krobinson@...
Uniform Law Commission / 111 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 1010, Chicago, IL 60602 / 312-450-6600, www.uniformlaws.org
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Katie Robinson
Senior Director for Strategy and Communications
Chicago IL
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