As interstate trade and individual movements have increased in the United States, the perceived need for greater uniformity of laws on specific issues has increased. One response to this need is to enact federal legislation on the subject (e.g., the Federal Securities Act of 1933). Another approach, known as « uniform state laws, » involves the adoption of identical or similar laws by all states. It dates back to the late nineteenth century. A non-governmental organization, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCUSL), was formed in 1892 on the recommendation of the American Bar Association to promote « uniformity of the laws of the states on all matters where uniformity is deemed desirable and practicable. » The Conference, composed of jurists chosen by States, oversees the drafting of uniform laws, which States are encouraged to adopt. For more than a century, this process has worked, led by committees that prepare successive drafts for consideration and final approval by the entire conference. To date, the commissioners have passed more than two hundred uniform laws, of which more than 100 have been passed by at least one state. A few have largely prevailed and have therefore moved closer to the uniform national law hoped for in their region. The term « uniform laws » can be misleading.
Once approved by the National Conference, a uniform law has no force of law anywhere in the United States. It is simply a bill addressed to fifty state legislators. In the history of the conference, about half of its proposals have not been adopted by a single State. (Examples include the Uniform Construction Lien Act (1987), the Uniform Franchises and Business Opportunities Act (1987), the Uniform Putative and Unknown Fathers Act (1988).) Moreover, most of those that have been reasonably successful fall far short of the goal of adoption by all, if not most, States. Moreover, versions of « uniform laws » adopted by states are rarely uniform. Deviations occur from the outset when previous law or other special local conditions result in a change of state; It is rare for states to literally adopt uniform laws. A second source of deviation is the conference itself. Following the successful passage of a single piece of legislation, Commissioners, as well as actual legislators, are encouraged to revise it from time to time in light of changing conditions and policies. This results in several versions of certain uniform statutes, and if and until states that have passed an earlier version adopt commissioners` revisions in several versions that are in effect in the states.
For example, there are at least two versions of the Uniform Succession Code in force in the States, the original Code and the 1989-1990 revisions, which some States have not adopted and others have adopted only partially. (See LII Uniform Probate Code Locator). In short, uniformity has proven to be an illusory goal. Uniformity of the law is the goal and hope of the law student. One step in this direction is the gradual centralization of legislative power within the federal government. However, this development runs counter to a deep-rooted belief in the rights of States; And most lawyers look with more satisfaction at the increasing uniformity brought about by the adoption of uniform laws by different states. Today, each state has adopted one or more of the uniform laws drafted and recommended by the Commission for Uniform State Laws, a body of distinguished jurists, lawyers, and laws. « Uniformity. » Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uniformity. Retrieved 11 October 2022. Another type of excise duty is a sales tax, which is levied on certain goods and services. The goods and services taxed are determined by the legislators of each state.
In some cases, a sales tax on expensive items that are considered luxury goods is called a luxury tax. A tax levied on real estate must be proportional or proportional to its value, which is generally determined as fair cash or fair market value. This requirement protects the equality and uniformity of taxation by preventing arbitrary or inconsistent methods of determining the tax owing. This requirement applies only to property taxes, not excise taxes. The uniform laws are the creation of a non-governmental organization, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCUSL). The NCUSL promotes uniformity of state laws on all matters where uniformity is considered desirable and achievable. The greatest successes of the unified legal approach have been achieved in the area of commercial and economic law. For example, the Uniform Commercial Code. These sample phrases are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word « consistency. » The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us your feedback. Model acts are legislative proposals on issues whose primary objective is reform rather than uniformity. Those who create model laws consider that state legislators can make changes or even take pieces and pieces. The National Conference presented some model laws. So does the American Law Institute. Its Model Penal Code is perhaps the best-known and most influential model law. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms of uniformity The concept of uniformity of taxation is closely linked to the notion of equality, since similar goods are taxed in the same way only if the method of valuation is identical or uniform. Nglish: Translating uniformity for Spanish speakers While uniformity was the original goal of the law harmonization process overseen by the NCUSL, over time, the revision or reform of the law has also become an important goal. Legislative issues where differences from one State to another did not pose a serious problem for business or inter-State mobility, but where State laws were judged by legal experts to be in need of reform, were the subject of uniform laws. To the extent that some actions are justified by this broader objective, their inability to be widely accepted or to resist state-to-state pressures provides a less solid basis for assessing success. Indeed, such efforts can reasonably be considered successful when a unified law is only one of many proposals that catalyze and shape legislative reform. With this in mind, the Uniform Real Estate and Tenant Act could be considered a fair success, despite its relatively limited adoption.
The question of whether states should be able to tax internet sales has attracted increased interest as states struggle to secure additional funds in the wake of budget deficits. From a technical point of view, these transactions are taxable. However, a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling states that states can only require sellers to collect taxes if they have a physical presence in the same state as the consumer.
