Committee sends RS32481 to print to expand state tort remedy for speech and religion claims

The Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee voted to send RS32481 to print, a resolution sponsored by Senator Ben Toews that would amend the state Tort Claims Act to provide a state‑court remedy for alleged violations of freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

In presenting the resolution, Senator Ben Toews said the change would allow people whose First Amendment rights are violated to seek recourse in state court rather than relying solely on federal courts. "This allows this to be enforced at the state level through the state court system and it broadens the number of attorneys that would be willing to carry these types of cases to attorneys that deal at the state level," Toews said.

Senator Wintrow expressed hesitation about limiting the proposed remedy to only speech and religion, noting that federal law under 42 U.S.C. §1983 covers a range of civil‑rights claims. "...it does cover more things than that are here. So I'm just, again, I'm a little reluctant to isolate a couple and not have all," Wintrow said, while indicating a willingness to vote to print to allow further research.

Committee action: Senator Wintrow moved to send RS32481 to print; Senator Ricks seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote and the resolution will be in the hands of Senator Van Orden for further work.

What it does and next steps: The resolution as presented would add speech and religion to state tort remedies; the committee did not vote on any final statutory text and did not adopt a substitute — the vote forwarded the RS for drafting/printing so the language can be developed and examined in subsequent committee work. Several senators encouraged additional research on potential overlap with existing federal remedies and on whether other civil‑rights protections should be included.

The committee also handled other routine business after the vote.