See also
Look up model act in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Conflict of laws
- EU Harmonization, a somewhat similar concept in European Union law
- Model State Constitution
- Project Blitz
- Uniform act
A model act, also called a model law or a piece of model legislation, is a suggested example for a law, drafted centrally to be disseminated and suggested for enactment in multiple independent legislatures. The motivation classically has been the hope of fostering more legal uniformity among jurisdictions, and better practice in legislative wording, than would otherwise occur; another motivation sometimes has been lobbying disguised under such ideals. Model laws can be intended to be enacted verbatim, to be enacted after minor modification, or to serve more as general guides for the legislatures.
Model laws are especially prevalent in federations because the federal subjects (for example, states, provinces, or other subjects) are autonomous or semi-autonomous but nonetheless can benefit from a substantial degree of uniformity of laws among jurisdictions. For example, in the United States, because the country consists of 50 semi-autonomous states, each with its own legislature and set of laws, avoidance of needless variation is valuable, reserving variation only to essential autonomous differences. There, model laws are referred to as model acts or model bills. Many American special interest groups draft model acts which they lobby lawmakers to pass. In particular, the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has successfully gotten hundreds of model acts passed since 2010. Uniform acts are model acts intended to be enacted exactly as written. They are drafted by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), a state-run non-profit organization whose purpose is to draft laws in areas where uniformity is important (for example, to facilitate interstate commerce).
The concept is not specific to federations, and international organizations such as the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and the European Union have also written model laws to harmonize laws between different countries.
Although model acts inherently can serve valid purposes (such as for uniform justice, with less capriciousness), their distortion into disguised lobbying has been criticized. American critics of such model laws have thus referred to them as "copycat laws", "fill-in-the-blanks laws", and "copy-paste laws". The concept caused some controversy in 2019 when a coalition of 30 investigative journalists published a series called "Copy, Paste, Legislate", investigating the corporate interests behind many model laws.
One early example of a model law was eugenicist Harry H. Laughlin's Model Eugenical Sterilization Law. In 1922, he published the book Eugenical Sterilization in the United States whose purpose was to persuade state legislatures into passing sterilization laws, which it also did. [1] In chapter XV of the book he included the bill Model Eugenical Sterilization Law. [2] Two years later, Laughlin's sterilization act was enacted almost unmodified by the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in Buck v. Bell in 1927, [3] paving the way for similar sterilization laws in other states. [1]
The non-profit Uniform Law Commission (ULC), formerly known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, was founded in 1892 to provide American jurisdictions with robust legislation. [4] ULC promotes enactment of uniform acts in areas of state law where uniformity is desirable and practical. [5] ULC produces both model and uniform acts. Since its inception it has produced over 250 uniform acts. [6]
ULC drafted the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act in 2005 which served as a template for tribal legal infrastructure on reservations to provide consistency and greater accessibility in lending and credit transactions. [7]
The American Bar Association is an association of American lawyers and law students which has published a large number of model acts. Its most successful model law is probably the Model Business Corporation Act published in 1950. As of 2020 [update] , the act is followed by 24 states. [8] Another influential act ABA has drafted is the 1979 Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments, which as of 2000 [update] had been adopted in full by 16 states and in part by several more. [9] The act went through a major update in 2000.
Other model acts drafted by ABA include the Model Airspace Act in 1973, [10] and the Model Code for Public Infrastructure Procurement in 2007. [11]
The American Law Institute (ALI) is most famous for its Restatements of the Law but has also produced model acts. A well-known example is the Model Penal Code published in 1962 seeking to harmonize state criminal law.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) an American nonprofit organization—whose members include conservative state legislators and private sector representatives—is a prolific producer of model state-level laws for conservative causes. [12] [13] ALEC has deep ties to the State Policy Network (SPN), an umbrella organization for a consortium of conservative and libertarian think tanks that focus on state-level policy, [14] which is one of ALEC's sponsors. [15]
One of ALEC's earliest model acts were the 1981 Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act to prohibit acts that would make agricultural business operations more difficult. [16] The act sought to impose harsh penalties, including a terrorism registry, on instances of direct action performed by organizations such as the Animal Liberation Front. [17]
ALEC's model acts concern many topics important to conservatives like Stand Your Ground, Voter ID, illegal immigration, [18] truth in sentencing, three strikes, [19] right to know, [20] and cutting taxes. [21] ALEC has drafted and distributed state-level legislation to limit.[ clarification needed ] [22] It has also opposed the creation or expansion of municipal broadband networks. [23] [24] [25]
ALEC has been very successful in getting its laws passed; according to Brendan Greeley, lawmakers introduce bills based on the organization's model acts about 1,000 times per year in state legislatures and about 200 of them become law. [26] In 2015, ALEC model bills were reflected in about 172 measures introduced in 42 states, according to the Center for Media and Democracy, publishers of the ALEC Exposed series. [27]
ALEC has also been criticized for being funded by big corporations and over alleged underhandedness. The Guardian has described it as a "dating agency for Republican state legislators and big corporations" to "frame rightwing legislative agendas". [28] [29]
Some notable model acts not drafted by the above-mentioned organizations:
An example of an international model law is the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. Model legislative provisions on privately financed infrastructure projects were drafted by UNCITRAL and recommended for states to use by the United Nations General Assembly in 2004. [42] Other UNCITRAL Legislative Guides, which make recommendations for efficient approaches to addressing an area of law within a national or local context, are listed at United Nations Commission on International Trade Law#Legislative Guides.
In 2019, a team of 30 reporters from the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), USA TODAY , and The Arizona Republic published the result of a two-year-long investigation into model acts entitled "Copy, Paste, Legislate". [43] The investigation raised concerns over the role of ALEC and other corporate-sponsored organizations on the American legislative process.
The investigation used text analysis software called Legislative Influence Detector created by Joe Walsh, a former data scientist at the University of Chicago to spot similarities between model acts and enacted legislation. Its main finding was that during the period 2010 to 2018 lawmakers had introduced bills based on model acts at least 10,000 times. Another 10,000 bills were likely copied but were more dissimilar. The investigation identified over 2,100 model acts but speculated that the real number is far higher since many organizations keep their model acts secret. In many states, the use of model bills was found to have supplanted the traditional way of writing legislation "from scratch". [43]
Mississippi was found to be the state with the highest number of bills introduced based on model acts, 744 - 200 more than the next highest state. 288 came from the non-partisan Council of State Governments and 255 from ALEC. But only 57 of them became law, according to the investigation. [44]
The "Copy, Paste, Legislate" investigation uncovered a legal initiative by the car industry to enact laws that would require dealers to disclose if a bought used car were under open recall, something most states do not require. The car industry's initiative was in response to other legal initiatives that called for banning the sales of used cars under open recall entirely. [45]
The first bill produced by the initiative was introduced in 2014 by New Jersey Speaker, Paul D. Moriarty and called for "a fine for failing to disclose open recalls to customers." [45] It was based on model law that had been crafted by a lobbyist who headed the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers. The lobbyist said that their "model legislation" provided "suggested language" and was never intended to be a copy-and-paste exercise." [45] [46] Similar model legislation was drafted by the Washington, D.C.–based Automotive Trade Association Executives (ATAE), representing over 100 "executives from regional auto dealer associations". [45] The bill allowed dealers to continue selling recalled cars as long as they disclosed open recalls. [45] The dealers worked with over 600 lobbyists in 43 states to assist in getting the legislation passed. [45] From 2014 through 2019, lawmakers in eleven states introduced similar bills into their state legislatures. [45]
The libertarian Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, drafted the "right-to-try" law that was signed into law in Ohio in 2016 by then-Governor John Kasich. It allows patients with terminal illnesses to try drugs that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved. The law was passed on the federal level in 2018. [47]
The "Copy, Paste, Legislate" investigation also documented the Israel lobby's largely successful attempts to get statehouses to pass legislation to curb the Palestinian-led BDS movement. BDS calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel until it stops its human rights violations against Palestinians. The legislation that the Israel lobby promotes requires state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel and state pension funds to divest from entities that do. [48]
One of the first anti-BDS law was sponsored by Republican lawmaker Alan Clemmons who introduced it in 2015. He worked with the Israeli-American Coalition for Action's (AIC) Joe Sabag, his "buddy and wordsmith-in-chief", to prepare the bill. [48] Eugene Kontorovich, a George Mason University law professor, assisted in drafting the legislation. He also helped other states with their anti-BDS laws and frequently defends their constitutionality in the media. [48] By May 2019, 25 other states had adopted similar measures. Many of the bills shared exact wording. [48] The anti-BDS initiatives, undertaken by activist groups concerned about the rise of antisemitism, such as the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Israeli-American Coalition for Action, have been largely successful in pushing the anti-boycott legislation through state legislatures, according to a two-year collaborative investigative journal report. A JFNA lobbyist wrote the "anti-boycott executive order and news release" for the governor of Louisiana. [48] A pro-Israel lobbyist closely helped edit the bill and guided the lawmaker who introduced and supported the anti-boycott legislation in Nevada. [48]
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United States.
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to as "legislation" while it remains under consideration to distinguish it from other business. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, to authorize, to outlaw, to provide (funds), to sanction, to grant, to declare, or to restrict. It may be contrasted with a non-legislative act by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a legislative act.
In the United States, a uniform act is a proposed state law drafted and approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL).
Article 23 is an article of the Hong Kong Basic Law. It states that Hong Kong "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."
Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. A private bill is a proposal for a law affecting only a single person, group, or area, such as a bill granting a named person citizenship or, previously, granting named persons a legislative divorce.
A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to substantially alter an existing law.
The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Constitution, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the legislature and how it is to be constituted. The legislature is composed of 160 state legislators. The primary purpose of the legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. It meets in the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee.
In the United States, state law refers to the law of each separate U.S. state.
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states with well-researched and drafted model acts to bring clarity and stability to critical areas of statutory law across jurisdictions. The ULC promotes enactment of uniform acts in areas of state law where uniformity is desirable and practical. The ULC headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois.
The legal system of Australia has multiple forms. It includes a written constitution, unwritten constitutional conventions, statutes, regulations, and the judicially determined common law system. Its legal institutions and traditions are substantially derived from that of the English legal system, which superseded Indigenous Australian customary law during colonisation. Australia is a common-law jurisdiction, its court system having originated in the common law system of English law. The country's common law is the same across the states and territories.
The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act ("UCAPA") is a Uniform Act drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) and submitted for enactment by jurisdictions within the United States in 2006. This uniform law originated by the parents of internationally abducted children, and parents fearing their children would be abducted.
The Ministry of Law and Justice in the Government of India is a cabinet ministry which deals with the management of the legal affairs, legislative activities and administration of justice in India through its three departments namely the Legislative Department and the Department of Legal Affairs and the Department of Justice respectively. The Department of Legal Affairs is concerned with advising the various Ministries of the Central Government while the Legislative Department is concerned with drafting of principal legislation for the Central Government. The ministry is headed by Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India. The first Law and Justice minister of independent India was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who served in the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet during 1947–51.
For the government of India, Part XI of the Constitution of India – consists of Articles on Relations between the Union and States.
James Clark "Jim" Nance was a leader for 40 years in the Oklahoma Legislature in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and was community newspaper chain publisher 66 years. Nance served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate. During his legislative career, Nance wrote the "Honest Mistake" law which became a model for other states. Nance then became a key sponsor and Legislative Chairman of the U.S. Uniform Law Commission (ULC), sponsored by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, a non-partisan advisory panel which drafted uniform acts and uniform state commerce laws. Nance became known as a legislative expert in a 40-year legislative career as one of two Oklahomans to hold the top posts in both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature. The state's largest newspaper, The Daily Oklahoman wrote he was the "longest serving Oklahoma Legislator" and "A Legislator's Legislator." Nance, a Democrat, is the only Oklahoma House Speaker elected through a bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Fiercely independent, Nance considered public policy work to be a service and did not ever accept a salary or pension for any of his 40 years in the legislature and 24 years on the Uniform Law Commission. Nance refused to work as a lobbyist, although he had many offers after leaving office.
Ariana Brannigan Kelly is an American politician who is the executive director of the Maryland Commission for Women. She was a member of the Maryland Senate from District 16, which is located in Montgomery County, from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the same district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2011 to 2023.
The Uniform Trust Code is a model law in the United States created by the Uniform Law Commission, which, although not binding, is influential in the states and used by many as a model law. As of October 2022, 36 states and jurisdictions have enacted a version of the Uniform Trust Code. As of October 2022, legislation has been proposed in New York to adopt the UTC.
The Israel Anti-Boycott Act (IABA) was a proposed anti-BDS law and amendment to the Export Administration Act of 1979 designed to allow U.S. states to enact laws requiring contractors to sign pledges promising not to boycott any goods from Israel, or their contracts would be terminated, and to make it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, for American citizens to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Project Blitz is a coalition of over 40 Christian right groups, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation, and Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislators Conference. Founded by Randy Forbes, the group states that it seeks to "protect the free exercise of traditional Judeo-Christian religious values and beliefs in the public square, and to reclaim and properly define the narrative which supports such beliefs." It is rooted in Christian nationalist ideology. Project Blitz also operates as "Freedom for All" and as part of the "First Freedom Coalition."
The Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (UFIPA) is one of the uniform acts that have been proposed in an attempt to harmonize the law in all fifty U.S. states. UFIPA was finalized and adopted by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 2018.
With regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict, many supporters of the State of Israel have often advocated or implemented anti-BDS laws, which effectively seek to retaliate against people and organizations engaged in boycotts of Israel-affiliated entities. Most organized boycotts of Israel have been led by Palestinians and other Arabs with support from much of the Muslim world. Since the Second Intifada in particular, these efforts have primarily been coordinated at an international level by the Palestinian-led BDS movement, which seeks to mount as much economic pressure on Israel as possible until the Israeli government allows an independent Palestinian state to be established. Anti-BDS laws are designed to make it difficult for anti-Israel people and organizations to participate in boycotts; anti-BDS legal resolutions are symbolic and non-binding parliamentary condemnations, either of boycotts of Israel or of the BDS movement itself. Generally, such condemnations accuse BDS of closeted antisemitism, charging it with pushing a double standard and lobbying for the de-legitimization of Israeli sovereignty, and are often followed by laws targeting boycotts of Israel.
The Utah bill aims to prohibit state and local agencies from providing water to a giant new NSA data center near Salt Lake City.
