National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

211 E. Ontario St., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60611
tel 312-915-0195, fax 312-915-0187

For Immediate Release

UNIFORM LAW GROUP WRAPS UP MEETING
Electronic Transactions Act Among Acts Approved

July 30, 1999 - New uniform acts dealing with electronic signatures and computer information transactions were among those approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) at its 1999 Annual Meeting, in Denver, Colorado, July 23 - 30.

The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, designed to support the use of electronic commerce, was approved. The primary objective of this act is to establish the legal equivalence of electronic records and signatures with paper writings and manually-signed signatures, removing barriers to electronic commerce.

Also approved was the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act, which represents the first uniform comprehensive computer information licensing law. This act will make it possible for states to provide a neutral and predictable legal framework for transactions in computer information, and also will also provide greater legal certainty for the millions of transactions which are occurring daily under less than clear legal rules.

Revisions to the Uniform Rules of Evidence, originally promulgated in 1974, were also approved. The primary purpose of this act is to simplify and codify the rules pertaining to what may be introduced in evidence in any civil or criminal trial in a state court of law. A revision was necessary to keep abreast of current developments in the law of evidence, such as the use of DNA evidence.

The fourth act approved was a revised Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act. A disclaimer, in the context of this legislation, is a refusal to accept property. The planning for individual estates, including increases in real estate values, insurance benefits, retirement plans, living trusts benefits, and benefits from others, have required the expansion of the existing disclaimers laws. This new act is a powerful estate planning tool that will help cope with gaps in existing estate plans beyond the traditional settings.

Important revisions to the Uniform Commercial Code were debated, but not completed. UCC Article 2, Sales, and UCC Article 2A, Leases, were both scheduled for final approval, but after much debate, it was decided that these acts require more consideration before they are completed.

The NCCUSL also debated drafts dealing with mediation, arbitration, athlete agents, money laundering, and interstate domestic violence orders.

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is now in its 108th year. The organization comprises more than 300 lawyers, judges, law professors, legislators and other state officials from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Commissioners are appointed by their states to draft and promote enactment of uniform laws that are designed to solve problems common to all the states.

A uniform act must be considered at two annual meetings by all commissioners before it can be approved. After receiving the NCCUSL seal of approval, a uniform act is officially promulgated for consideration by the states, and legislatures are urged to adopt it. Since its inception, the NCCUSL has been responsible for more than 200 acts, among them such bulwarks of state statutory law as the Uniform Commercial Code, the Uniform Probate Code and the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.