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DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION ONLY
UNIFORM INTERSTATE EMERGENCY
HEALTHCARE SERVICES ACT
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS
ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS
For April 2006 Drafting Committee Meeting
WITH PREFATORY NOTE AND WITHOUT COMMENTS
Copyright ©2006
By
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS
ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS
The ideas and conclusions
set forth in this draft, including the proposed statutory language and any
comments or reporters notes, have not been passed upon by the National Conference
of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws or the Drafting Committee. They do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Conference and its Commissioners and the Drafting Committee and its Members
and Reporter. Proposed statutory
language may not be used to ascertain the intent or meaning of any promulgated
final statutory proposal.
April 21, 2006
DRAFTING COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM INTERSTATE EMERGENCY
HEALTHCARE SERVICES ACT
The Committee appointed by
and representing the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
in revising this Uniform Interstate Emergency Healthcare Services Act consists
of the following individuals:
RAYMOND P. PEPE, 17 N. Second St., Payne Shoemaker
Bldg., 18th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101-1507, Chair
ROBERT G. BAILEY, University of Missouri-Columbia, 217
Hulston Hall, Columbia, MO 65211
KENNETH W. ELLIOTT, City Place Building, 204 N.
Robinson Ave., Suite 2200, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
THOMAS T. GRIMSHAW, 1700
Lincoln St., Suite 3800, Denver, CO 80203
THEODORE C. KRAMER, 45 Walnut
St., Brattleboro, VT 05301
AMY L. LONGO, 8805 Indian
Hills Dr., Suite 280, Omaha, NE 68114-4070
JOHN J. MCAVOY, 3110
Brandywine St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
DONALD E. MIELKE, 7472 S.
Shaffer Ln., Suite 100, Littleton, CO 80127
JAMES G. HODGE, JR., 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore,
MD 21205-1996, Reporter
EX OFFICIO
HOWARD J. SWIBEL, 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1200,
Chicago, IL 60606, President
LEVI J. BENTON, State of
Texas, 301 Fannin, Rm. 206, Houston, TX 77002, Division Chair
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION ADVISOR
BRYAN ALBERT LIANG, California Western School of Law,
350 Cedar St., San Diego, CA 92101, ABA
Advisor
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
WILLIAM H. HENNING, University of Alabama School of
Law, Box 870382, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0382, Executive Director
Copies of this Act may be obtained from:
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS
ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS
211 E. Ontario Street, Suite 1300
Chicago, Illinois
60611
www.nccusl.org
UNIFORM INTERSTATE EMERGENCY
HEALTHCARE SERVICES ACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prefatory Note................................................................................................................................. 1
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
...4
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.
4
(1) Coordinating
entity
(2) Credentialing
(3) Emergency
(4) Emergency
Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
(5) Emergency Systems for Advance Registration of
Volunteer Health Professionals
(ESAR-VHP)
(6) Entity
(7) Healthcare
services
(8) Host
entity
(9)
Individual
(10) License
(11) Medical
Reserve Corps (MRCs)
(12) Person
(13) Privileging
(14) Scope
of practice
(15) Source
entity
(16) Standard
of care
(17) State
(18) Volunteer
health personnel
SECTION 3. ACTIVATION OF VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL
...
...7
(a) Effect
of Emergency Declaration
(b) Specific
Authorization Pursuant to Declaration
(c) Invocation
Without an Emergency Declaration
SECTION 4. VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL
SYSTEMS
7
(a) Organized
Systems to Deploy and Use Volunteer Health Personnel
(b) Designation
of Organized Systems
(c) Registries of Volunteer Health Personnel During Emergencies
(d) Procedures to Determine
Suitability of Volunteers
SECTION 5. INTERSTATE LICENSURE
RECIPROCITY FOR VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL
.8
(a) Licensing
Recognition
(b) Credentialing
and Privileging
(c) Practice
Consistent with the Scope of Licensure
(d) Waiver
of Disciplinary Sanctions
SECTION 6. CIVIL IMMUNITY FOR
VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL AND ENTITIES
..9
(a) Immunity
from Civil Damages for Provision of Healthcare Services
(b) Immunity
from Civil Damages for Provision of Other Services
(c) Immunity
from Vicarious Liability for Source, Coordinating, or Host Entities
(d) Immunity
Exception for Willful, Wanton, or Criminal Conduct
SECTION 7. WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR VOLUNTEER
HEALTH PERSONNEL
10
(a) Option
A - Volunteer Health Personnel as State Agents in Source Jurisdiction of
Deployment
(b) Option
B - Volunteer Health Personnel as State Agents in Host Jurisdiction of
Service
(c) Option
C - Volunteer Health Personnel Entitled to Existing Workers' Compensation
Protection through Employer
(d) Option
D - Volunteer Health Personnel Responsible for Determining Workers'
Compensation Coverage
SECTION 8. REEMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS
FOR VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL
...11
SECTION 9. EFFECT OF COMPENSATION ON VOLUNTEER
STATUS
.11
SECTION 10. UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES
BY VOLUNTEERS DURING EMERGENCIES
...
.
12
SECTION 11. CONFLICTS OF LAWS
.12
SECTION 12. UNIFORMITY OF
APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION
12
SECTION 13. SEVERABILITY.
.
.12
UNIFORM INTERSTATE EMERGENCY
HEALTHCARE SERVICES ACT
Prefatory Note
The human
devastation in the Gulf Coast states from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
demonstrated significant shortcomings in
the ability of the nations emergency services delivery system to efficiently
and expeditiously incorporate into disaster relief operations the services
provided by private sector healthcare professionals. This includes employees and volunteers of
non-governmental disaster relief organizations who were needed to meet surge
capacity in affected areas and provide timely healthcare assistance to hundreds
of thousands of victims of the disaster.
Although
the U.S. Public Health Service, the Armed Forces, the Federal Disaster Medical
Service, and healthcare professionals employed by state and local governments
provided much-needed healthcare services, the magnitude of the disaster swamped
the ability of these organizations to effectively handle relief operations. Additional
resources were readily available throughout the country and thousands of healthcare
professionals immediately volunteered to provide assistance. However, state-based
emergency response systems lacked a uniform process and legal framework to
recognize out-of-state professional licenses and other benefits necessary to
authorize and encourage these volunteers to provide healthcare services in many
affected areas. In some jurisdictions, volunteer
health personnel were not adequately protected against exposure to tort claims or
injuries or deaths suffered by the workers themselves.
Still,
as numerous media reported, thousands of doctors and other healthcare
practitioners from across the country set aside their practices and traveled to
the Gulf Coast to provide emergency healthcare services to those in need. Many of these volunteers came through
organized systems, such as the federally-funded, state-based Emergency Systems
for the Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP), or local-based
Medical Reserve Corps (MRCs). Other
volunteers, however, deployed spontaneously to affected areas, complicating
response efforts. Some of these health volunteers
were turned away or used for purely administrative tasks because their out-of-state
professional licenses were not recognized or for other reasons. The
Metropolitan Medical Response System program, part of the federal Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), references a report on its website:
Volunteer
physicians are pouring in to care for the sick, but red tape is keeping
hundreds of others from caring for Hurricane Katrina survivors. The North Carolina mobile hospital waiting to
help
offered impressive state-of-the-art medical care. It was developed with
millions of tax dollars through the Office of Homeland Security after 9-11.
With capacity for 113 beds, it is designed to handle disasters and mass
casualties. It travels in a convoy that
includes two 53-foot trailers, which on Sunday afternoon was parked on a gravel
lot 70 miles north of New Orleans because Louisiana officials for several days
would not let them deploy to the flooded city. We have tried so hard to do the right thing.
It took us 30 hours to get here, said one of the frustrated surgeons, Dr.
Preston Chip Rich of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That government officials cant straighten
out the mess and get them assigned to a relief effort now that theyre just a
few miles away is just mind-boggling, he said.
As a
consequence, rather than treating the injured, sick and infirm, some qualified
physicians, nurses and other healthcare practitioners found themselves: (1)
waiting in long lines in often futile attempts to navigate through a
semi-functioning bureaucracy; or (2) providing other forms of assistance, such
as general labor, which failed to utilize their desperately needed healthcare skills. Others went ahead and treated victims at the
risk of violating existing state statutes and potentially facing criminal,
civil, or administrative penalties. Out-of-state
practitioners providing medical treatment also faced the real possibility of
non-coverage under their medical malpractice policies.
While
the magnitude of the emergency presented by Hurricane Katrina exceeded the
scope of disasters experienced in this country for many decades, foreseeable emerging
events pose similar threats. Future storms (especially in the New York
City and New England area); major earthquakes in San Francisco, Los Angeles or
other heavily urbanized areas; volcanic eruptions in the Pacific Northwest;
tidal waves on the east and west coasts; incidents of terrorism involving
weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological and chemical agents;
and flu or other pandemics may overwhelm the resources of disaster healthcare
delivery systems. To meet patient surge
capacity, reliance on private sector health professionals and non-governmental
relief organizations may be needed.
This
presupposes that the legal environment supports the deployment and use of intra-
and inter-state volunteer health personnel.
In fact, there are some existing major legal gaps and deficiencies that
may stymie, rather than encourage, widespread volunteer activities during
emergencies. The federal Congress
continues to examine some of these gaps through the introduction of multiple
federal bills since September, 2005. Similarly,
it has directed the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to establish
the Disaster Medical Relief Service consisting of intermittent federal
employees who enjoy interstate professional licensing recognition and
protections from civil liability via federal law.
States
are uniquely positioned to identify and remedy these gaps as well. Many state governments have recognized the
need to grant emergency licensing recognition on an interstate basis and to
afford disaster healthcare workers with protection from civil liability. Currently 49 states (except HI) have ratified
the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which provides for
licensing reciprocity and relief from civil liability to state forces
deployed to respond to emergencies. Many state laws underlying the declaration
of public health emergencies (typically framed based on the Model State
Emergency Health Powers Act developed by the Center for Law and the Publics Health at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins
Universities) also provide for healthcare licensing licensure recognition in
many jurisdictions. However, no uniform
provisions have been drafted to date to efficiently incorporate the full
resources of our healthcare delivery system, especially volunteer health
personnel, into emergency responses.
Specifically
concerning the deployment and use of volunteer health personnel during
emergencies or other dire circumstances, a uniform approach to drafting model
legislative language among states presents several key advantages:
Ψ Lacking uniformity, separate state-by-state enactments
create inconsistencies and dilemmas at a time when their solution is unwieldy
if not unworkable;
Ψ A state-by-state approach is less likely to benefit from
the focused participation of the key national constituencies that may support a
uniform law; and
Ψ Even the best single-state bill cannot anticipate or
reflect the valid concerns of other states.
The Uniform Interstate Emergency Healthcare Services Act
(UIEHSA) provides model legislative language to facilitate organized response
efforts among volunteer health professionals. UIEHSAs provisions address the following:
Ψ The specific kinds of volunteer health personnel
covered;
Ψ Application of its coverage to officially-declared states
of disaster, emergency, or public health emergency (or like terms at the state or
local level) or in dire circumstances;
Ψ Procedures to recognize the valid and current licenses
of volunteer health personnel in other states for the duration of an emergency
or invocation of the Act;
Ψ Removal of any disciplinary sanctions or liability
against volunteer health personnel, or those who employ, deploy, or supervise them;
Ψ Limitations on the exposure to tort claims against volunteers;
Ψ Workers compensation protections for volunteer health
personnel; and
Ψ Reemployment protections for volunteer health personnel.
Legislative
Notes
To be provided.
UNIFORM INTERSTATE EMERGENCY HEALTHCARE SERVICES ACT
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
Option 1:
This [act] may be cited as the Uniform Interstate Emergency Healthcare
Services Act.
Option 2:
This [act] may be cited as the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Healthcare
Services Act.
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. As used in this [act]:
(1)
Coordinating entity means any entity
that acts as a liaison to facilitate
communication and cooperation between
source and host entities, but does not provide any healthcare services in the
course of its assistance.
(2)
Credentialing means obtaining,
verifying, and assessing the qualifications of a healthcare practitioner to
provide patient care, treatment, and services in or for a healthcare
organization.
(3)
Emergency means any emergency,
disaster, or public health emergency (or like term) as defined by the State or
any of its authorized local governments.
(4)
Emergency Management Assistance Compact
(EMAC) refers to the mutual aid agreement ratified by Congress and signed
into law in 1996 as Public Law 104-321, and subsequently enacted by the State (insert specific State code reference).
(5)
Emergency Systems for Advance
Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) means that State-based
program created with funding through the Health Resources Services Agency
(HRSA) under Section 107 of the federal Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 to facilitate the effective use of
volunteer health professionals during emergencies.
(6)
Entity means any an institution,
company, partnership, government agency, or other organization, as distinguished
from individuals.
(7)
Healthcare services means the
provision of care, services, or supplies related to the health of an
individual, including (1) preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative,
maintenance, or palliative care, counseling, service, assessment, or procedure
with respect to the physical or mental condition, or functional status, of an
individual or that affects the structure of function of the body; and the (2)
sale or dispensing of a drug, device, equipment, or other item to individuals in
accordance with a prescription.
(8)
Host entity means any entity that
receives and permits volunteer health personnel to provide healthcare services
during an emergency.
(9)
Individual means any natural
person or human being.
(10)
License means the official permission
granted by competent governmental authority to engage in healthcare services
otherwise considered unlawful without such permission.
(11)
Medical Reserve Corps (MRCs) means
those local units consisting of trained and equipped emergency response, public
health, and medical personnel, pursuant to Section 2801 (b)(2)(c) of the Public
Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, whose
purpose is to ensure that State and local governments have appropriate capacity
to detect and respond effectively to an emergency.
(12)
Person means an individual,
corporation, partnership, association, public corporation, agency, or other
legal or commercial entity.
(13)
Privileging means that form of
authorization granted by the appropriate authority, such as a governing body,
to a practitioner to provide specific care, treatment, and services in an
organization with well defined limits based on factors that include license,
education, training, experience, competence, health status, and judgment.
(14)
Scope of practice means those
services routinely performed by a healthcare practitioner consonant with the
requisite education, training, and specialized judgment pursuant to the laws of
the State of the host entity.
(15)
Source entity means any entity
with whom volunteer health personnel are employed or affiliated and from which
they are subsequently deployed.
(16)
Standard of care means the
reasonable diligence, skill, and competence as employed by health practitioners
in the same capacity or general field of
practice who have available to them the same general facilities, equipment, and
options to provide appropriate care or treatment, pursuant to the laws of the State
of the host entity.
(17)
State means any of the fifty (50)
states comprising the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, an Indian tribe or band, or any territory subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
(18)
Volunteer health personnel means
any physician, nurse, physician assistant, or other healthcare practitioner who
provides healthcare services during an emergency or the invocation of the [act]
based on his or her own free will.
Volunteer health personnel do not include employees of a host entity.
SECTION 3.
ACTIVATION OF VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL.
(a) Effect of Emergency Declaration. The declaration of a state or emergency
by the State or authorized local governments shall activate the emergency provisions
of this [act], effectively authorizing the deployment and use of volunteer
health personnel to affected area(s).
(b) Specific Authorization Pursuant to Declaration. Whoever is
authorized to declare the state of emergency in (a) above is also authorized to
implement and enforce the provisions of this [act] or delegate these
responsibilities to other appropriate individuals or entities consistent with
legal authorization during the emergency.
The power to implement or enforce the provisions of this [act] shall
extend throughout the duration of the emergency.
(c) Invocation Without an Emergency Declaration. The provisions of
this [act] may also be invoked by any State or local government official (who
is authorized to declare a state of emergency) without declaring a state of
emergency if the deployment and use of volunteer health personnel are necessary
to provide essential healthcare services
in non-emergency circumstances at the local, regional, or state-wide levels. In such cases, the State or local official
who invokes this [act] shall also be empowered to (1) act consistent with the
powers under (b), above; and (2) terminate the invocation of the [act].
SECTION 4. VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL SYSTEMS.
(a) Organized Systems to Deploy and Use Volunteer Health Personnel. Relevant
protections and privileges of this [act] shall apply to any volunteer health
personnel who is registered through organized systems of volunteers providing
healthcare services, including State ESAR-VHP systems, local MRCs, or other approved
systems developed by associations of licensing boards, healthcare
professionals, or disaster relief organizations.
(b)
Designation of Organized Systems. The [State
emergency management agency, State public health agency, State medical
licensing board] is authorized via administrative regulations to designate those
systems whose registered volunteers shall be entitled to the protections and
privileges of this [act]. The agency
shall only include systems that serve to facilitate the registration of
volunteer health personnel prior to their authorization to provide healthcare
services.
(c)
Registries of Volunteer Health Personnel
During Emergencies. The identities of registered volunteer health personnel
in other states shall be verified through (1) notification of status to the
appropriate volunteer systems administrators; or (2) registration within the
host state through a designated volunteer health personnel registration system
pursuant to (b) above.
(d) Procedures to Determine Suitability of Volunteers. The [State emergency management agency, State
public health agency, State medical licensing board] shall create
procedures via administrative regulations in consultation with representatives
of volunteer organization systems identified in Section 3 to efficiently
identify volunteer healthcare personnel during an emergency or the invocation
of this [act].
SECTION 5. INTERSTATE LICENSURE RECOGNITION FOR VOLUNTEER
HEALTH PERSONNEL.
(a) Licensing Recognition. Whenever a state of emergency has been
declared or the provisions of this [act] are invoked, out-of-state volunteer
health personnel who are (1) actively licensed for the practice of healthcare
services in their state; and (2) in good standing as to licensing status, shall
have their licenses recognized as valid in the State for the purposes of their provision
of healthcare services. The volunteer
health personnels license shall be recognized for the purposes of providing
healthcare services as if it is issued in the State.
(b) Credentialing and Privileging. Recognition of an out-of-state
volunteer health personnels license and the authority to provide healthcare
services does not displace the role of healthcare entities to independently
examine credentialing and privileging standards pertaining to volunteer health
personnel in specific healthcare settings.
(c) Practice Consistent with the Scope of Licensure. Any volunteer health personnel, including
out-of-state volunteer health personnel who are authorized to provide healthcare
services in the State pursuant to this Section, shall adhere to the scope of
practice and standards of care set forth in licensing provisions or other laws
or policies of this State. Any deviation from the normal scope of practice and
standards by volunteer health personnel during emergency responses must be reasonably
consistent with modifications promulgated or approved by an authorized official
of the State or local government.
(d) Waiver of Disciplinary Sanctions. Disciplinary sanctions may be waived or modified, in whole or in
part, for volunteer health personnel acting within the scope of this [act].
SECTION 6. CIVIL IMMUNITY FOR VOLUNTEER HEALTH PERSONNEL
AND ENTITIES.
(a) Immunity from Civil Damages for Provision
of Healthcare Services. Volunteer health personnel authorized to provide healthcare
services pursuant to Section 5 of this [act] are immune from civil damages
arising out of such provision for the duration of the emergency or invocation
of this [act].
(b) Immunity from Civil Damages for Provision
of Other Services. Volunteer health personnel authorized to provide healthcare
services pursuant to Section 5 of this [act] are also immune from civil damages
for their nonhealth-related acts performed within the scope of their activities
as volunteer health personnel for the duration of the emergency or invocation
of this [act].
(c) Immunity from Vicarious Liability for Source,
Coordinating, or Host Entities. Source,
coordinating, or host entities are immune from vicarious liability arising out
of the performance of all healthcare services and nonhealth-related acts by
volunteer health personnel for the duration of the emergency or invocation of
this [act].
(d) Immunity Exception for Willful, Wanton, or
Criminal Conduct. No volunteer health personnel or entity is immune under
this [act] for willful, wanton, or criminal conduct that arises during the
duration of the emergency or invocation of this [act].
SECTION 7. WORKERS COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR VOLUNTEER
HEALTH PERSONNEL. Volunteer health personnel shall be
afforded protection from harms that arise within the scope of their activities
through workers compensation coverage for the duration of the emergency or
invocation of this [act] as follows:
(a) Option A - Volunteer Health Personnel as
State Agents in Jurisdiction of Deployment. Volunteer health personnel who provide
healthcare services shall be considered state agents of the jurisdiction from
which they were deployed and afforded workers compensation coverage like any state
government employee of the jurisdiction.
(b) Option B - Volunteer Health Personnel as
State Agents in Jurisdiction of Service. Volunteer health personnel who provide
healthcare services shall be considered state agents of the jurisdiction in
which they served as volunteers and afforded workers compensation coverage
like any state government employee of the jurisdiction.
(c) Option C - Volunteer Health Personnel Entitled to Existing Workers
Compensation Protection through Employer. Volunteer health personnel who provide
healthcare services shall be considered employees of their existing employer,
and thus entitled to existing workers compensation protections through this
employer.
(d) Option D - Volunteer Health Personnel Responsible for Determining
Workers Compensation Coverage. Volunteer health personnel who provide healthcare
services are responsible for assuring workers compensation coverage through
the jurisdiction from which they were deployed or served as volunteer, or
existing employer.
SECTION 8. REEMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS FOR VOLUNTEER HEALTH
PERSONNEL. Volunteer health personnel who provide
healthcare services during an emergency or pursuant to the invocation of this
[act] are entitled to reemployment protections through their existing employer
consistent with those protections of uniformed service personnel employees
pursuant to the terms and conditions of the federal Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301 et seq. The [State
emergency management agency, State public health agency] is authorized via administrative
regulations to clarify the extent of reemployment protections for volunteer
health personnel consistent with this Section.
SECTION 9. EFFECT OF
COMPENSATION ON VOLUNTEER STATUS. A prospective, concurrent, or
retrospective offer or provision of monetary or other compensation to volunteer
health personnel by a coordinating, host, or source entity, or any other
person, for the delivery of healthcare services during an emergency or the
invocation of this [act] does not affect the individuals volunteer status,
unless such compensation is pursuant to the preexisting employment relationship
with the host entity.
SECTION 10. UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES
BY VOLUNTEERS DURING EMERGENCIES.
(a)
Any volunteer health personnel or other individual who willfully or
fraudulently engages in the unauthorized practice of healthcare services during
an emergency or the invocation of this [act] is subject to criminal or civil
liability, disciplinary sanctions, or other penalties under the laws or
processes of this State and its agents.
(b) Any
individual who falsely represents himself or herself to be a volunteer health
personnel as defined in this [act] shall be guilty of a [Class A - insert]
misdemeanor. Upon conviction, the
individual is punishable by a fine not to exceed [$10,000] or imprisonment not
to exceed [9] months, or both.
SECTION 11. CONFLICTS OF
LAWS. Nothing in this Act is intended to limit additional
protections from liability or other benefits for volunteer health personnel
found in federal, state, or local laws. In the event of a conflict between this
[act] and other state or local laws, the provisions of this [act] apply.
SECTION 12. UNIFORMITY
OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. In applying and construing the
provisions of this [act], consideration must be given to the need to promote
uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that
enact it.
SECTION 13. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this [act] are severable. If any provision of this [act] or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such does not affect
other provisions or applications of this [act] which can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application.