Virginia Code Commission

July 30, 2009

Presentations

Regulation Information System
Mr. Miller announced that Virginia's electronic regulation drafting and filing system (Regulation Information System) was awarded the 2009 Robert J. Colborn Jr. Innovation Award by the Administrative Codes and Registers Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

Revision of Title 64.1, Wills and Decedents’ Estates
Mr. Cotter presented the Title 64.2 proposed outline recommended by the work group. The proposed name of the title (Wills, Trusts, and Fiduciaries) now reflects the incorporation of Trusts and Fiduciaries into the title. The title is divided into four subtitles:

• Wills and Decedents' Estates.
• Trusts, which are mostly uniform acts.
• Fiduciaries and Guardians.
• General Provisions concerning Probate and Nonprobate Transfers.

For a complete description of the discussion on the Title 64.1 revision, visit the Code Commission website.

Request to correct § 25.1-210
The Code Commission considered a request from an attorney at a Norfolk law firm to correct an error in § 25.1-210. Section 25.1-210 describes the process for obtaining a court order to effect service of a notice of a condemnation action by publication in situations where the property owners are out of state or unknown. As currently written, the section provides that unknown owners "may be served by order of publication." The requester suggested clarifying the language to read that unknown owners "may be served by notice, pursuant to an order of publication," so that it is clear that the notice must be published, not the order.

Senator Edwards stated that the requester is technically correct, but referred to it as a "de minimis error." In its discussion, the Commission agreed that the suggested change improved and clarified the language, but noted that this type of clarification change is usually handled during the recodification process. No motion was made to introduce legislation to correct the error.

Mr. Miller suggested that the Commission review its statutory authority to make corrections to the Code in order to consider whether that authority should be expanded to deal with issues such as this one. The Chairman asked staff to put the powers issue on a future agenda for thorough discussion.

Revision of Title 6.1, Banking and Finance
Mr. Munyan reported on the revision of Title 6.1. The Commission discussed Chapters 3 (Interest and Usury), 4 (Certain Lending Practices), 7 (Acquisitions of Interests in Financial Institutions), and 10 (Entities Conducting Trust Business) and certain outstanding issues. For a complete description of the discussion on the Title 6.1 revision, visit the Code Commission website.

Incorporating Federal Laws and Regulations by Reference into the Code of Virginia
At a recent meeting, a question was raised regarding incorporating a federal act or regulation by reference into the Code of Virginia, and whether the language "as amended" or similar language is necessary. One thought is that the federal act in effect at the time the Code section is read is the effective language, with or without the language "as amended" appended to the reference. Another consideration is that the federal act in effect at the time the Code section was enacted is the effective language. Mr. Miller stated that he is continuing to research the issue and will bring it back to the next meeting for discussion.

Authentication of State Online Legal Materials
Staff advised members that the Uniform Law Commissioners established a new drafting committee to develop a uniform law relating to the authentication and preservation of state electronic legal materials. The Commission may be interested in monitoring the progress because of the Commission's responsibility for codifying statutes and administrative regulations. Mr. Miller stated that he has requested to be on the drafting committee.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for October 1, 2009, at the General Assembly Building.

Chairman:
The Hon. R. Steven Landes

For information, contact:
Jane Chaffin, DLS Staff