(Des Moines) Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said Tuesday he has high hopes for the Iowa Legislature to pass an anti-SLAPP bill this session after several years of the measure stalling.
SLAPP, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” is a term used for civil lawsuits filed to intimidate a person or news organization from speaking publicly about certain issues. The individuals or organizations bringing these suits do not necessarily think they can win in court, but aim to stop reporting or public speech on a subject by threatening a drawn-out, expensive legal battle.
House Study Bill 116 is this year’s run at passing anti-SLAPP legislation in Iowa — one of 15 states that does not have a state measure protecting against these lawsuits. The bill has been passed by the House in previous sessions, but has yet to clear the Senate.
But this year, Holt said he believes the bill has “outstanding chance this year to advance to the Senate.” The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate File 47, the companion bill to the House measure, earlier Tuesday.
“I think this year we’re going to get it done,” Holt said.
Holt said his interest in passing anti-SLAPP legislation began in 2018 when a Carroll police officer sued the Carroll Times Herald for libel after the paper reported he was having sexual relationships with teenagers, an act he admitted to. The court case cost the paper over $100,000 and took more than a year to conclude.
The legislation, Holt said, would help prevent these situations by allowing for an expedited relief in court on actions that involve freedom of speech and of the press, as well as the rights to assemble, petition and of association.
“What this legislation allows is a sort of an expedited judgment up front, if the lawsuit is that way, is trying and attempting to silence speech,” Holt said. “Obviously, if there’s slander something there, the judge would determine, ‘no, it doesn’t fit,’ it would move forward. But it does allow that expedited relief and also reasonable attorney fees to the individual who’s targeted.”
David Walker, a member of the Uniform Law Commission of Iowa, said the legislation is an important step toward protecting constitutional rights of Iowans.
“This is bipartisan legislation — really crucial to our democracy, in protecting public expression against the kind of intimidation that is real, and that has effect without the protection of this act,” Walker said. “… I would say that it broadly protects all First Amendment rights which are replicated at the Iowa Constitution.”
Several speakers supported the bill on behalf of news organizations, saying the measure will help prevent the judiciary from being used to restrict First Amendment rights. The bill was also supported by multiple speakers who said they had faced threats of legal action for their comments about the construction of Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed pipeline.
Rep. Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, said though she has not been working on the legislation as long as Holt, she has “very vehemently” supported the measure for the past two years.
“I’m eager to do so again, for all of the reasons that each of you have stated, from trying to protect just our constitutional rights to freedom of speech — the very basics of what we should all be standing upon — and the good work that so many in the newspaper industry and journalism industry have done for our state,” Srinivas said.
The House bill is now available for consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. The Senate measure will be available for floor debate after being placed on the calendar.
