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Senate committee approves media shield bill to protect reporters from subpoenas
Summary
House Bill 158, a proposed media shield law, advanced from the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee after testimony from journalists who said subpoenas were forcing them to disclose sources and materials; committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due pass.
BOISE — The Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee voted to advance House Bill 158, which would create statutory protections preventing reporters from being compelled to testify about unpublished reporting or anonymous sources and would limit attorney access to reporters’ unpublished materials through subpoenas.
Senator Dave Lent, sponsor, described the bill as filling a gap: “Idaho is one of 10 states in the country that does not protect those folks,” he said, and invited journalists to explain the need. Melissa Davelin, president of the Idaho Press Club, testified the bill would cover unpublished reporting and communications with sources and that the proposal was modeled on shield laws in Alabama and Kentucky. “Idaho media outlets are facing a growing number of subpoenas, and this jeopardizes their confidentiality with sources who trust reporters with their information, including whistle blowers within government,” Davelin said.
Journalists from small and regional outlets described recent subpoenas that they said imposed legal costs and exposed confidential communications. Don Day of Elevate 208 Media said his outlet faced a subpoena that required legal counsel and months of work to quash. “We spent our time and treasure not on covering stories… but on battling this action,” Day said. Nate Sunderland, editor of East Idaho News, said a reporter’s recording was played in open court after subpoenas sought recordings and communications, which he called a “horrifying experience.”
Senators supporting the measure emphasized the role of journalism in public accountability. Senator Foreman moved to send House Bill 158 to the Senate floor with a due pass; Senator Ricks seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote and the chair announced the motion carries.
No formal roll-call was recorded in the excerpt provided. The bill’s language, as presented to the committee, reserves protections for a wide range of news gatherers by avoiding a narrow statutory definition of “journalist” so that non‑traditional reporters are not excluded, a point Davelin highlighted.
The committee advanced the bill to the full Senate, where debate and potential floor amendments may follow.
