093_SB0168eng

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning civil procedure.

 2        Be it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  1.   Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Citizen Participation Act.

 6        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
 9    Illinois that  the  constitutional  rights  of  citizens  and
10    organizations  to  be  involved and participate freely in the
11    process of government must be encouraged and safeguarded with
12    great diligence.  The information, reports, opinions, claims,
13    arguments, and other expressions  provided  by  citizens  are
14    vital   to   effective  law  enforcement,  the  operation  of
15    government, the making of public policy  and  decisions,  and
16    the  continuation  of  representative  democracy.   The laws,
17    courts, and other agencies of this  State  must  provide  the
18    utmost  protection  for  the free exercise of these rights of
19    petition, speech, association, and government participation.
20        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
24    and communicate with government.  There has been a disturbing
25    increase  in  lawsuits  termed  "Strategic  Lawsuits  Against
26    Public  Participation"  in government or "SLAPPs" as they are
27    popularly called.
28        The threat of SLAPPs, personal liability, and  burdensome
29    litigation  costs significantly chills and diminishes citizen
30    participation in government, voluntary  public  service,  and
31    the  exercise of these important constitutional rights.  This
 
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 1    abuse of the judicial process can and  has  been  used  as  a
 2    means  of  intimidating, harassing, or punishing citizens and
 3    organizations for involving themselves in public affairs.
 4        It is in the public interest and it  is  the  purpose  of
 5    this Act to strike a balance between the rights of persons to
 6    file  lawsuits  for  injury  and the constitutional rights of
 7    persons to petition,  speak  freely,  associate  freely,  and
 8    otherwise participate in government; to protect and encourage
 9    public  participation  in  government  to  the maximum extent
10    permitted by law;  to  establish  an  efficient  process  for
11    identification and adjudication of SLAPPs; and to provide for
12    attorney's fees and costs to prevailing movants.

13        Section 10.  Definitions. In this Act:
14        "Government"   includes  a  branch,  department,  agency,
15    instrumentality, official, employee, agent, or  other  person
16    acting  under  color  of law of the United States, a state, a
17    subdivision of a state, or another public authority including
18    the electorate.
19        "Person"   includes    any    individual,    corporation,
20    association,  organization,  partnership,  2  or more persons
21    having a joint or common interest, or other legal entity.
22        "Judicial claim" or "claim" include any lawsuit, cause of
23    action, claim, cross-claim, counterclaim, or  other  judicial
24    pleading or filing alleging injury.
25        "Motion"  includes  any  motion  to  dismiss, for summary
26    judgment, or to strike, or any other judicial pleading  filed
27    to dispose of a judicial claim.
28        "Moving  party" means any person on whose behalf a motion
29    described in subsection (a) of Section 20  is  filed  seeking
30    dismissal of a judicial claim.
31        "Responding party" means any person against whom a motion
32    described in subsection (a) of Section 20 is filed.
 
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 1        Section  15.  Applicability.  This  Act  applies  to  any
 2    motion  to dispose of a claim in a judicial proceeding on the
 3    grounds that the claim is based on,  relates  to,  or  is  in
 4    response   to  any  act  or  acts  of  the  moving  party  in
 5    furtherance of the moving party's rights of petition, speech,
 6    association, or to otherwise participate in government.
 7        Acts in  furtherance  of  the  constitutional  rights  to
 8    petition,   speech,   association,   and   participation   in
 9    government are immune from liability, regardless of intent or
10    purpose,   except  when  not  genuinely  aimed  at  procuring
11    favorable government action, result, or outcome.

12        Section 20.  Motion procedure and standards.
13        (a)  On the filing of any motion as described in  Section
14    15, a hearing and decision on the motion must occur within 90
15    days  after  notice of the motion is given to the respondent.
16    An appellate court shall expedite any appeal or  other  writ,
17    whether  interlocutory  or  not,  from  a  trial  court order
18    denying that motion or from a trial court's failure  to  rule
19    on that motion within 90 days after that trial court order or
20    failure to rule.
21        (b)  Discovery  shall  be suspended pending a decision on
22    the motion. However, discovery may be taken,  upon  leave  of
23    court  for  good  cause  shown,  on  the issue of whether the
24    movants  acts  are  not  immunized  from,  or  are   not   in
25    furtherance of acts immunized  from, liability by this Act.
26        (c)  The  court  shall  grant  the motion and dismiss the
27    judicial claim unless the court  finds  that  the  responding
28    party  has  produced  clear  and convincing evidence that the
29    acts of the moving party are not immunized from, or  are  not
30    in furtherance of acts immunized from, liability by this Act.

31        Section  25.  Attorney's  fees and costs. The court shall
32    award a moving party who prevails in a motion under this  Act
 
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 1    reasonable  attorney's  fees and costs incurred in connection
 2    with the motion.

 3        Section 30.  Construction of Act.
 4        (a)  Nothing in this Act  shall  limit  or  preclude  any
 5    rights   the   moving   party   may   have  under  any  other
 6    constitutional,  statutory,  case  or  common  law,  or  rule
 7    provisions.
 8        (b)  This Act shall be construed liberally to  effectuate
 9    its purposes and intent fully.

10        Section  35.  Severability.   The  provisions of this Act
11    are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

12        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
13    becoming law.