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.
Although model acts inherently can serve valid purposes (such as for uniform justice, with less capriciousness), their distortion into disguised lobbying has been criticized.
A well-known example is the Model Penal Code published in 1962 seeking to harmonize state criminal law.
[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.
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.
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.
[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.
BDS calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel until it stops its human rights violations against Palestinians.
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.
[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.
[48] A pro-Israel lobbyist closely helped edit the bill and guided the lawmaker who introduced and supported the anti-boycott legislation in Nevada.