STATE LAWS, UNIFORM

STATE LAWS, UNIFORM. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the exercise of state sovereignty resulted in the development of a checkerboard of separate and often conflicting state legal systems. A valid divorce in one state, for example, was occasionally a nullity in another. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, such factors as improved transportation and the increase in commerce persuaded lawmakers that it would be desirable to make some laws uniform throughout the states.

Three methods of adopting laws can establish such uniformity: (1) Congress may pass a law that applies to the states uniformly; (2) state legislatures may adopt identical laws; and (3) representatives of state governments may negotiate an agreement that in turn is adopted by the respective legislatures.

Although only the latter two methods provide for uniform state laws, Congress can develop uniformity merely by exercising its constitutional powers to legislate in substantive areas where its failure to do so permits idiosyncratic state regulation. Long-standing judicial doctrine holds that where Congress has the power to act, its laws preempt or supersede conflicting state laws on the subject.

In 1892, when state representatives met at the first National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, they faced two monumental tasks. First, they had to draft acceptable legislation. Second, they had to convince at least some state legislatures that the particular uniform act was wise state policy. Unlike federal laws, uniform acts are not thrust into existence by a superior governmental entity. Each state is free to adopt or reject such acts. (No uniform act has ever met with unanimous success.) States consistently counter powerful arguments of economic or social "necessity," theoretical "rightness," and the convenience of uniformity of culture and attitude with arguments stressing the uniqueness of certain local situations or that a particular area is already covered adequately. Despite the disparity of geographical representation and the sheer numbers of sovereign states (and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands), however, the conference has had a surprising degree of success.

The Negotiable Instruments Act and its successor, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), have been the most significant of the uniform acts. As of 1975, the UCC was law in all states except Louisiana, and its provisions were the legal framework of most business dealings in the United States. There were over 150 uniform acts, many of which met moderate to great success with state legislatures. Some were not adopted by any states. For example, conflicting laws governing marriage and divorce still allowed for "unknowing bigamists."

The conference successfully constitutes an ever-present machinery to set the wheels of uniformity in motion. Since 1892 the conference has convened every

year except 1945. Its president reports yearly to the American Bar Association, which in turn passes on the efficacy of new proposals. The assembly thus can respond in timely fashion to needs for uniformity and publicize its utility.

The commissioners, generally three from each state, are appointed by the respective governors, who over the years have made a practice of selecting leading lawyers, judges, and law professors.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Bar Association, Reports (annual).

Dunham, Allison. "A History of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws." Law and Contemporary Problems 30 (1965).

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. "Uniformity in the Law." Montana Law Journal 19 (1958).

Eric L. Chase

Harold W. Chase / c. w.

See also American Bar Association ; Congress, United States ; Divorce and Marital Separation ; Legislatures, State ; Sovereignty, Doctrine of .