(Boise, ID), A bill that its sponsors say is designed to protect free speech and public participation from frivolous lawsuits is heading to the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives with bipartisan support.
Late Thursday afternoon, the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted unanimously to send Senate Bill 1001 to the House floor with a recommendation to pass it.
Rep. Heather Scott, a Blanchard Republican who presented the bill Thursday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, described Senate Bill 1001 as a tool designed to fight strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP lawsuits.
If passed into law, the bill would create a new anti-SLAPP motion that people could file if they are subject to a frivolous lawsuit. The anti-SLAPP motion would place a stay, or a freeze, on the case and allow a judge to quickly dismiss frivolous lawsuits that are filed without merit without having to go through a lengthy, drawn out legal case. In such cases, the winning party would also be able to recover court costs and attorney fees.
“These lawsuits can take years to defend and cost tens of thousands of dollars because they’re really not designed to win,” Scott told legislators Thursday. “They’re designed to intimidate, distract, bankrupt or punish free speech.”
On the other hand, if the judge reviewing an anti-SLAPP motion finds there is merit to the lawsuit, the case would be allowed to continue.
Everyone who spoke during a public hearing on the bill on Thursday supported it, including the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, representatives of the Uniform Law Commission and Driggs resident Dirk Leasure, who said the need to protect Idahoans from frivolous lawsuits is “an American democracy issue.”
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, and Scott, who are two of the most conservative members of the Idaho Legislature. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, a Boise Democrat, thanked Lenney and Scott for bringing the bill forward on Thursday, saying the bill has been badly needed for years.
“This is something I had hoped we could pass for probably 10 years now, and I never thought it would happen. I’m so excited that we’re here,” Rubel said.
Senate Bill 1001 heads next to the Idaho House for consideration, where it could be taken up and voted on next week.
The Idaho Senate already voted 32-1 to pass the bill on Jan. 27.
If a majority of members of the Idaho House vote to pass Senate Bill 1001, it would then be sent to Gov. Brad Little’s desk for final consideration.
