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Committee reports nine House bills to the floor, adopts two amendments to SLAPP bill
Summary
The committee unanimously or favorably reported multiple House bills — including substitutes — to the full floor and adopted two amendments to House Bill 4,045 that narrow statutory protections alleged to allow government exceptions to expedited SLAPP procedures.
The Appropriations - Judiciary Committee convened, approved prior minutes and reported several House bills to the full floor, including substitutes and amendments. The clerk repeatedly called roll and announced the results before the committee moved on to a presentation from the Attorney General’s Office.
The committee adopted a substitute (H2) for House Bill 4,034 and reported it to the full floor with recommendation. The committee also reported House Bills 4,255 and 4,256 (fentanyl-related bills) with recommendation; the clerk recorded 8 yeas and 3 passes on at least one of those roll calls as announced at the hearing. The committee adopted a substitute for House Bill 4,047 and reported House Bill 4,048 to the floor with recommendation.
During consideration of House Bill 4,045, Rep DeBoyer offered an amendment to remove language that would exempt government plaintiffs or employees from SLAPP-related protections. DeBoyer argued the change would “place the government on the same footing as every other party” in litigation and give individual defendants equal access to expedited dismissal procedures. Rep Hope opposed removing the exemption, saying the provisions as written were needed to protect First Amendment rights in certain situations. The clerk announced the amendment was adopted.
Rep Johnson offered a second amendment to strike an automatic stay for SLAPP suits, arguing that an automatic stay should not include exceptions for government-filed lawsuits; the clerk announced that amendment was also adopted. After the amendments and a brief public comment from Clean Water Action, the committee reported House Bill 4,045 to the floor as amended (announced as reported with recommendation as a new substitute).
All roll-call results and motions were announced by the clerk at the meeting. Where the clerk’s announcements included numbers in the record, those figures are reported here as announced at the hearing. The committee adjourned after the Attorney General’s presentation.
