Kansas House moves to protect citizen speakers from lawsuits
The Kansas House took action Monday to slap down SLAPP lawsuits.
House Bill 2054, also known as the Public Speech Protection Act, is designed to discourage “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” legal actions that arise from public comments in government meetings and online.
In a typical SLAPP scenario, a wealthy corporation or individual brings a lawsuit against people of limited means who speak against them at government meetings.
SLAPP lawsuits have also been brought against bloggers and online review sites that have criticized companies or their products.
The idea is to silence opposition by forcing the citizens to spend money they may not have to defend themselves in court, whether the lawsuit is valid or not.
“It’s an important protection for public discourse,” said Rep. Jan Pauls, R-Hutchinson, who carried the bill on the floor. “It’s a good way to avoid having people too intimidated to exercise their First Amendment rights.
“It’s hard to tell how much free speech has been shut down by that type of intimidation.”
The bill would set up a hearing process to make it easier for people who are targeted to get the case dismissed by a judge.
If the case is thrown out, judges would automatically award court costs and legal expenses to the person targeted in the SLAPP suit. A judge could also order sanctions against the company or individual who filed the suit, to discourage them from doing it again.
The bill is designed to protect citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech, assembly, association and petitioning, according to the bill summary.
Pauls said 30 other states and territories have passed similar legislation.
The Kansas Press Association and the Kansas Association of Broadcasters gave testimony in favor of the measure, the bill summary said.
The bill advanced on an overwhelming voice vote.
Dion Lefler: 316-268-6527, @DionKansas
This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Kansas House moves to protect citizen speakers from lawsuits."