August 4, 2006 – Yvonne L. Tharpes, acting chief legal counsel of the V.I. Legislature, was among the 250 attorneys, judges, law professors, legislators and other state officials – all lawyers – participating in the 2006 Annual Meeting of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), recently concluded in Hilton Head, S.C. St. Thomas Attorney Tom Bolt was also in attendance.
According to the news release, issued Friday by NCCUSL, Tharpes has been a U.S.V.I. Uniform Law Commissioner since 2000.
Now in its 115th year, NCCUSL is comprised of more than 300 commissioners appointed by every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to draft and promote enactment of uniform laws that are designed to solve problems common to all the states. Commissioners donate their time as a pro bono public service.
Commissioners come together at the national conference once a year to study and consider drafts of specific statutes in areas of the law where uniformity between the states is desirable. The eight acts just approved in South Carolina, and now available for state enactment, deal with issues ranging from new rules on volunteer health care services in declared emergencies to a revision of established rules governing organ donations.
Among the acts the commissioners approved is a new Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Care Practitioners Act, which was drafted in response to the recent devastation in the Gulf States from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, specifically the problem of allowing out-of-state medical professionals to practice in the afflicted areas. This new act will allow state governments to give reciprocity to other states' licensees on emergency services providers so that covered individuals may provide services without meeting the disaster state's licensing requirements.
Another act approved is a revision to the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA). Every state has adopted an earlier version of the UAGA, which is the basic law governing organ donations in the states. This new revision updates the act in light of changes in federal law and regulations; it also expands the number of individuals authorized to make anatomical gifts.
The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act provides courts with guidelines to follow during custody disputes and divorce proceedings in order to help courts identify families at risk for abduction and to provide methods to prevent the abduction of children.
The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, like its predecessor, the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, provides statutory guidelines for management, investment and expenditures of endowment funds of charities.
Other acts approved by the National Conference include the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, the Uniform Representation of Children in Abuse, Neglect, and Custody Proceedings Act and the Model Registered Agents Act.
Since its inception in 1892, the organization has promulgated more than 200 acts, among them such bulwarks of state statutory law as the Uniform Commercial Code, Uniform Probate Code, Uniform Partnership Act, Uniform Securities Act, Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
