We are just three months into the association year and the newly appointed section councils are in full swing. Several section councils immediately began work on proposed legislation for presentation to the House of Delegates and three councils brought their proposed legislation/resolution to the September HOD meeting. The Access to Justice section presented a resolution asking the MBA to encourage pro bono work and financial support of the legal aid system and to support the Governor’s declaration of October as Pro Bono month. The Business Law section asked for the MBA’s support for amendments to Articles 1, 7 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the Juvenile and Child Welfare section brought forward a proposed competency statute for juveniles. All three sections were successful in receiving support from the House of Delegates members.
The pace continued to the November House of Delegates meeting as Access to Justice led the way with a resolution calling upon the Governor and State Legislature to amend regulations regarding the emergency shelter criteria issued by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Three more sections also presented agenda items including: the Probate Law section’s proposed amendments to the MUPC regarding spousal elective share; the Criminal Justice section’s legislative amendments to the “three-strike rule”; and the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm section’s request to change the section name to “The Sole Practitioner & Small Firm” section. All of the sections received support from the House of Delegates.
Several other sections are working on proposed legislation and you, as a member of your designated section, can be part of this important work. To find out what your section is working on, just log into your MyBarAccess page, fill in your profile, check out the discussion groups and review the posted meeting minutes in the Library Tab. If you are interested in working on one of the many projects or would like to suggest a project/legislation/CLE topic, just join a discussion group or send an email to your section chair. It’s that easy.