Senator Leake asks to postpone bill that would let voters sue campaigns over texts

Senator Leake asked the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Wednesday to temporarily postpone Senate Bill 588, legislation that would create a private cause of action to enjoin candidates, committees, or parties that continue to send political text messages after recipients ask them to stop and to allow recovery of attorneys’ fees.

Leake told the committee the bill is intended to address recurring campaign texts and phone calls that continue after recipients reply “stop,” but said, “As well intended as this bill is, I will tell you that it, it, might be too broad at the moment.” He said he would meet with stakeholders to narrow the bill’s scope to preserve polling activity while keeping “the heart of the prohibition in place.”

The sponsor formally asked the committee to temporarily postpone consideration. Chair Gates accepted the request and the bill was noted as temporarily postponed. No amendment was moved while the bill was postponed.

The discussion made clear the bill would establish a private right to seek injunctions and attorneys’ fees for unwanted campaign communications; Leake did not identify specific statutory citations or estimate enforcement or fiscal effects during the presentation. The committee did not take a vote on the substantive provisions; the formal action recorded was the temporary postponement at the sponsor’s request.

The committee proceeded to its next agenda item after the postponement. The transcript does not record further public testimony or debate on SB 588 during this meeting.