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Senate panel advances anti‑SLAPP bill after testimony from free‑speech and legal groups
Summary
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1,001 — a Uniform Law Commission anti‑SLAPP/UPEPA proposal — to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation after sponsors and multiple witnesses described an expedited court process to dismiss meritless lawsuits that chill public participation.
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1,001 to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation after sponsor Sen. Brian Lenny (D.-Dist. 13) described the measure as a free‑speech protection that would give Idaho judges an early tool to dismiss meritless "strategic lawsuits against public participation" (SLAPPs).
Lenny told the committee the bill implements a Uniform Law Commission model (Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, UPEPA) tailored for Idaho. He said the statute would provide an early, expedited process so judges can stay discovery, hold an abbreviated hearing, and dismiss sham lawsuits before defendants accrue substantial legal fees. "It simply stops the bad ones from getting traction,"…
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