Uniform Law Commission

111 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 1010, Chicago, IL  60602

312/450-6600, Fax 312/450-6601, www.nccusl.org

Contact:            Michael Kerr, ULC Legislative Director, michael.kerr@nccusl.org

Katie Robinson, ULC Communications Officer, katie.robinson@nccusl.org

For Immediate Release:

ABA APPROVES FIVE UNIFORM ACTS

Revised Common Interest Ownership Act among Acts Approved

February 18, 2009 – Five uniform acts, dealing with issues ranging from new rules governing the relationship between unit owners’ associations and individual unit owners, to a new revision of the nationally enacted rules on family support, were approved by the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates at its Midyear Meeting in Boston, February 11-17.  Each uniform act was drafted and approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 2008.

The 2008 Amendments to the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (UCIOA) address growing tensions between the elected directors of unit owners’ associations and individual unit owners within those associations.  In keeping with the aims of the 1982 and 1994 versions of the act, the new amendments also reflect a comprehensive review of states’ experience with UCIOA and its predecessor acts over the last 30 years.  The 2008 UCIOA amendments will expand UCIOA’s treatment of association bylaws, rulemaking, operation and governance, notice methods, meetings, meeting and voting procedures, and the adoption of budgets and special assessments.  The Act adopts important ‘open meeting’ requirements for both unit owner and executive board meetings, and greatly limits the use of executive sessions.  The Act clarifies mandatory and discretionary association actions, while providing increased flexibility in determining whether to strictly enforce declarations, bylaws, or rules, or to decline to enforce or compromise them.

Like the 2008 UCIOA, the primary purpose of the Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act is to help address a growing demand in the states for a legislative solution for growing tensions between the elected directors of unit owners’ associations and individual unit owners within those associations.  UCIOBORA was drafted so that it can be enacted by states as a stand-alone act when it is not feasible to enact all of UCIOA.  The UCIOBORA is drawn directly from the provisions of UCIOA, and would supplement existing state common interest community law with many of the most important updates and protections of the 2008 Amendments to UCIOA.  The UCIOBORA includes provisions that clarify powers and duties of a unit owners association and the executive board; describes the authority to discipline unit owners, within limits, for failure to pay assessments, and the executive board of a unit owners association is given flexibility in determining whether to enforce the letter of each provision of its declaration, bylaws, or rules, or decline to enforce or compromise on such.  The right of an association to proceed in foreclosure on a lien against a unit owner is revised and limited, and the act provides priority for the application of delinquent sums.  Procedures are provided for the removal of officers and directors of an association, along with certain protections for developer-appointed directors.  Removal procedures must be posted as part of the meeting notice, and the affected director or officer must have the opportunity to be heard.

The new 2008 Amendments to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) incorporate the provisions of the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance into state law. The United States signed the Convention in November 2007 and it is currently before the U.S. Senate for ratification.  The UIFSA amendments will:  improve the enforcement of American child support orders abroad and will ensure that children residing in the United States will receive the financial support due from parents, wherever the parents reside; provide guidelines and procedures for the registration, enforcement, and modification of foreign support orders from countries that are parties to the Hague Convention on Maintenance; and allow the United States to fully accede to the Convention once all states adopt the amendments.

The Revised Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act (RUUNAA) revises the earlier 1996 Uniform Act by addressing internal and external issues that face an unincorporated nonprofit association today.  RUUNAA retains the basic topics established by its 1996 predecessor but improves upon the Act by incorporating certain modern trends in unincorporated nonprofit association law.  RUUNAA reaffirms that a nonprofit association is a legal entity distinct from its members and managers but takes it further by allowing an unincorporated nonprofit association to exist in perpetuity with certain powers necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes.  In terms of regulating internal relationships of a nonprofit association, RUUNAA distinguishes itself from its predecessor in that it includes provisions addressing certain member and manager issues.  RUUNAA also addresses financial issues as well as dissolution, winding up and termination of an unincorporated nonprofit association.

The Uniform Unsworn Foreign Declarations Act affirms the validity of unsworn foreign declarations made by a declarant who is physically outside the boundaries of the United States when making the declaration and who may not have access to a notary.  Under the Act, unsworn declarations cannot be used for depositions, oaths of office, oaths related to self-proved wills, declarations recorded under certain real estate statutes, and oaths required to be given before specified officials other than a notary.  Use of an unsworn declaration, like a sworn declaration, would be subject to penalties for perjury, and the Act provides a model form that unsworn declarations must substantially follow.

Each of these acts was approved by the ULC in 2008 and is available for introduction and adoption by all the states.  Information on each of these acts is available at the ULC’s website at www.nccusl.org.

The Uniform Law Commission is comprised of more than 350 practicing lawyers, governmental lawyers, judges, law professors and lawyer-legislators, who are appointed by each state, 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 laws where uniformity is desirable and practical.  Now in its 117^th year, the ULC has provided states with over 250 uniform acts that help bring clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law.

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