UCITA Legislation Dies in Okla; NCCUSL Withdraws Resolution Before ABA

Proponents of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) have suffered a double setback as UCITA legislation (SB697) in Oklahoma died in the Senate Appropriations Committee and the American Bar Association (ABA) refused to take a formal position on
the act during its Midyear Meeting in Seattle.

UCITA is a proposal developed by the National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) that reportedly seeks to establish new commercial law for the licensing of information-based products.

“The National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) opposes the UCITA model because of the negative effects that it might have on business and consumers,” Donald Hanson, NAII southwest regional manager, said. “With the defeat of the bill in Oklahoma, one of the states targeted for legislative action, and NCCUSL being forced to withdraw its UCITA resolution before the ABA, we are hopeful that this will be a foreshadowing of events around the country.”

UCITA was originally adopted in July 1999. At this time, only Maryland and Virginia have adopted the act. In 2002 the model act was amended by NCCUSL and it is now under consideration for introduction in a number of states for the 2003 legislative session.