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Committee introduces measure to create criminal libel offense (RS31858)
Summary
The House State Affairs Committee voted to introduce RS31858, a measure sponsored by Representative Mike Moyle that would create a criminal-liability offense for knowingly spreading false statements about a candidate or officeholder; members raised First Amendment concerns and asked for legal analysis at hearing.
Representative Mike Moyle introduced RS31858, a proposal to create a new felony for knowingly making false statements about a candidate or public official.
Moyle said the bill responds to misinformation observed during the recent election cycle. “One of the things that was really disturbing to me … was how do you capture that, right? Because I'm a firm believer in the First Amendment. But I also believe that our founding fathers did not include the First Amendment being able to lie about somebody,” Moyle said, adding the bill would allow restitution and other remedies for victims of deliberate falsehoods.
The measure drew immediate questions about constitutional limits. Representative Skog said he wants to hear a legal analysis at any future hearing “around how this gets around the First Amendment issues that … people have asked you about.” Skog also warned that criminalizing false speech broadly could create enforcement and incarceration problems, saying “you make every liar a felon and then we're going to be in a lot of trouble, not enough room in our jails.”
Committee members moved and approved introduction of RS31858 by voice vote. The motion to introduce was made on the floor and the chair reported the motion carried.
No hearing on the bill was held at the session; members requested legal analysis and further briefing before a public hearing.
Ending: The committee introduced RS31858 for further consideration and signaled the chair will schedule a hearing only after legal questions are addressed.
