Full Text of SB1434 95th General Assembly
SB1434 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB1434
Introduced 2/9/2007, by Sen. John J. Cullerton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Citizen Participation
Act. Applies to motions in cases concerning SLAPP lawsuits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) that have been filed to discourage citizen participation in government. Requires courts to decide those motions within 90 days. Provides that discovery is suspended pending a decision on the motion. Allows discovery on certain issues upon leave of court. Requires that the motion be granted and the claim dismissed unless the responding party produces clear and convincing evidence that the moving parties' acts are not immunized under this Act. Provides for attorney's fees and costs to be awarded to the prevailing moving party. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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SB1434 |
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LRB095 11109 AJO 31442 b |
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| AN ACT concerning citizen participation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Citizen Participation
Act.
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| Section 5. Public policy. Pursuant to the fundamental | 7 |
| philosophy of the
American
constitutional form of government, | 8 |
| it is declared to be the public policy of
the State of Illinois | 9 |
| that the constitutional rights of citizens and
organizations to | 10 |
| be involved and participate freely in the process of
government | 11 |
| must be
encouraged and safeguarded with great diligence. The | 12 |
| information, reports,
opinions, claims, arguments, and other | 13 |
| expressions provided by citizens are
vital to effective law | 14 |
| enforcement, the operation of government, the making of
public | 15 |
| policy and decisions, and the continuation of representative | 16 |
| democracy.
The laws, courts, and other agencies of this State | 17 |
| must provide the utmost
protection for the free exercise of | 18 |
| these rights of petition, speech,
association, and
government | 19 |
| participation.
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| Civil actions for money damages have been filed against | 21 |
| citizens and
organizations of this State as a result of their | 22 |
| valid exercise of their
constitutional rights to petition, | 23 |
| speak freely, associate freely, and
otherwise
participate in |
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| and communicate with government. There has been a disturbing
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| increase in lawsuits termed "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public | 3 |
| Participation"
in
government or "SLAPPs" as they are popularly | 4 |
| called.
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| The threat of SLAPPs, personal liability, and burdensome | 6 |
| litigation costs
significantly chills and diminishes citizen | 7 |
| participation in government,
voluntary public service, and the | 8 |
| exercise of these important constitutional
rights. This abuse | 9 |
| of the judicial process can and has been used as a means of
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| intimidating, harassing, or punishing citizens and | 11 |
| organizations for involving
themselves in public affairs.
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| It is in the public interest and it is the purpose of this | 13 |
| Act to strike a
balance between the rights of persons to file | 14 |
| lawsuits for injury and the
constitutional rights of persons to | 15 |
| petition, speak freely, associate freely,
and
otherwise | 16 |
| participate in government; to protect and encourage public
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| participation in government to the maximum extent permitted by | 18 |
| law; to
establish an efficient process for identification and | 19 |
| adjudication of SLAPPs;
and to provide for attorney's fees and | 20 |
| costs
to prevailing movants.
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| Section 10. Definitions.
In this Act:
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| "Government" includes a branch, department, agency,
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| instrumentality, official, employee, agent, or other person | 24 |
| acting under color
of law of the United States, a state, a | 25 |
| subdivision of a state, or another
public authority including |
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| the electorate.
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| "Person" includes any individual, corporation, | 3 |
| association,
organization, partnership, 2 or more persons | 4 |
| having a joint or common
interest, or other legal entity.
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| "Judicial claim" or "claim" include any lawsuit, cause of
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| action, claim, cross-claim, counterclaim, or other judicial | 7 |
| pleading or filing
alleging injury.
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| "Motion" includes any motion to dismiss, for summary
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| judgment, or to strike, or any other judicial pleading filed to | 10 |
| dispose
of a judicial claim.
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| "Moving party" means any person on whose behalf a motion
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| described in subsection (a) of Section 20 is filed seeking | 13 |
| dismissal of a
judicial claim.
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| "Responding party" means any person against whom a motion
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| described in subsection (a) of Section 20 is filed.
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| Section 15. Applicability.
This Act applies to any motion | 17 |
| to dispose of a claim in a judicial proceeding
on the grounds | 18 |
| that the claim is based on, relates to, or is in response to | 19 |
| any
act or acts of the moving party in furtherance of the | 20 |
| moving party's rights of
petition, speech, association, or to | 21 |
| otherwise participate in government.
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| Acts in furtherance of the constitutional rights to | 23 |
| petition, speech,
association, and participation in government | 24 |
| are immune from liability,
regardless of intent or purpose, | 25 |
| except when not genuinely aimed at procuring
favorable |
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| government action, result, or outcome.
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| Section 20. Motion procedure and standards.
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| (a) On the filing of any motion as described in Section 15, | 4 |
| a hearing and
decision on the motion must occur within 90 days | 5 |
| after notice of the motion is
given to the
respondent.
An | 6 |
| appellate
court shall expedite any appeal or other writ, | 7 |
| whether interlocutory or not,
from a trial court order denying | 8 |
| that motion or from a trial court's failure to
rule on that | 9 |
| motion within 90 days after that trial court order or failure | 10 |
| to
rule.
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| (b) Discovery shall be suspended pending a decision on the | 12 |
| motion. However,
discovery may be taken, upon leave of court | 13 |
| for good cause shown, on the issue
of whether the movants
acts | 14 |
| are not immunized from, or are not in furtherance of acts | 15 |
| immunized
from, liability by this Act.
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| (c) The court shall grant the motion and dismiss the | 17 |
| judicial claim unless
the court finds that the responding party | 18 |
| has produced clear and convincing
evidence that the acts of the | 19 |
| moving party are not immunized from, or are not
in
furtherance | 20 |
| of acts immunized from, liability by this Act.
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| Section 25. Attorney's fees and costs.
The court shall | 22 |
| award a moving party who prevails in a motion under this Act
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| reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in connection | 24 |
| with the motion.
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| Section 30. Construction of Act.
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| (a) Nothing in this Act shall limit or preclude any rights | 3 |
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moving party may have under any other constitutional, | 4 |
| statutory, case or common
law, or rule provisions.
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| (b) This Act shall be construed liberally to effectuate its | 6 |
| purposes and
intent fully.
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| Section 35. Severability. The provisions of this Act
are | 8 |
| severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 10 |
| becoming law. |
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