(STATEHOUSE) — State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) has been reappointed to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws by Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville).
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), now in its 129th year, provides states with nonpartisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law. Commissioners must be members of the bar. While some commissioners serve as state legislators, most are practitioners, judges and law professors. They serve for specific terms and receive no salaries or fees for their work with the ULC. Headquartered in Chicago, the ULC comprises of more than 300 lawyers, judges and law professors.
The ULC does the following:
- Strengthens the federal system by providing rules and procedures that are consistent from state to state, but also reflect the diverse experience of the states;
- Represents all state experiences by having representatives from each state;
- Keeps state law up-to-date by addressing important and timely legal issues;
- Reduces the need for individuals and businesses to deal with different laws as they move and conduct business in different states;
- Facilitates economic development and provides a legal platform for foreign entities to deal with U.S. citizens and businesses;
- Draws on the expertise of commissioners, but also utilizes input from legal experts, advisors and observers representing the views of other legal organizations or interests that will be subject to the proposed laws; and
- Represents true value for the states, as it is a state-supported organization, providing services that most states could not otherwise afford or duplicate.
The ULC is a working organization. The commissioners participate in drafting specific acts; discuss, consider and amend drafts of other commissioners; decide whether to recommend an act as a uniform or a model act; and work toward enactment of ULC legislation in their home jurisdictions. ULC commissioners donate thousands of hours of their time and legal and drafting expertise every year as a public service.
Sen. Koch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, serves Senate District 44, which includes all or parts of Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Lawrence and Monroe counties. He is an attorney with the law firm Koch & McAuley P.C., with offices in Bedford and Bloomington.
