Committee adopts two amendments to proposed anti‑SLAPP bill and reports it to the House floor

The House Judiciary Committee adopted two amendments to House Bill 4045 that, as moved by committee members, remove language creating certain exceptions for government‑filed suits from the bill’s expedited dismissal provisions. After floor debate and brief public testimony, the committee reported the bill to the full House with recommendation as an amended substitute.

Rep. DeBoer offered the first amendment, saying it would “strike language on page 3 of the bill starting on line 14” and would “place the government on the same footing as every other party in these types of litigation matters.” DeBoer argued that if the government sues individuals over matters of public concern, those individuals should have the same access to an expedited dismissal process as other defendants.

Rep. Hope opposed taking out the exemptions and said she would pass on the amendment. “The 2 items that would be cut from this bill actually give individuals protection against anti‑SLAPP motions… I want to protect First Amendment rights of individuals, and I think the exemptions are necessary to do that,” she said.

The committee voted on the DeBoer amendment; the clerk recorded the vote as seven ayes, zero nays and four pass (the amendment was adopted). Rep. Johnson then offered a second amendment to remove language allowing trial courts to hear unrelated motions or government motions seeking preliminary relief that would otherwise be stayed; Johnson said an automatic stay should not contain exceptions for government lawsuits. The second amendment passed by the same roll‑call pattern (seven ayes, zero nays, four pass as recorded), and both changes were incorporated into a new substitute.

The committee heard brief public testimony in support of the bill. Nicole Kiwe Biber of Clean Water Action said the amendments are important to “protect citizens from the chilling effect of retributive and abusive strategic lawsuits against public participation,” and outlined concerns that volunteers and community members can be overwhelmed by litigation when they speak up about pollution or public‑health threats.

With the amendments adopted, the committee reported House Bill 4045 to the full House as an amended substitute. The clerk recorded the final roll call for the report as 11 ayes, 0 nays and 0 pass and the bill was recorded “with recommendation as amended as a new sub.”

The committee’s actions were limited to amendments and reporting the bill to the floor; no final House vote occurred in committee. The transcript shows multiple members debated the scope of the bill and whether government‑filed suits should be excluded from the expedited‑dismissal process.