Second Regular Session
Sixty-third General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
HOUSE BILL 02-1192
LLS NO. 02-0008.01 Debbie Haskins
House Committees
State, Veterans, & Military Affairs
Senate Committees
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Concerning the enactment of the "Citizen Participation in
Government Act of 2002".
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Article 21 of title 13, Colorado Revised Statutes,
is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW PART to read:
PART 10
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 2002
13-21-1001. Short title. This part 10 shall be known and
may be cited as the "Citizen Participation in Government Act
of 2002".
13-21-1002. Legislative findings and declaration of purposes.
(1) Findings. The general assembly finds and declares that:
(a) The framers of the United States constitution and
of the Colorado state constitution, recognizing citizen
participation in government as an inalienable right essential
to the survival of democracy, secured its protection through
the right to petition the government for redress of
grievances in the first amendment to the United States
constitution and section 24 of article II of the constitution
of this state;
(b) The communications, information, opinions, reports,
testimony, claims, and arguments provided by citizens to
their government are essential to wise government decisions
and public policy; the public health, safety, and welfare;
effective law enforcement; the efficient operation of
government programs; the credibility and trust afforded
government; and the continuation of America's republican
form of government through representative democracy;
(c) Civil lawsuits and counterclaims have been and are
being filed against citizens, businesses, and organizations
based on the valid exercise of their right to petition,
including seeking relief, influencing action, informing,
communicating, and otherwise engaging in public participation
with government bodies, officials, or employees;
(d) Such lawsuits, called "Strategic Lawsuits Against
Public Participation" and referred to in this part 10 as
"SLAPPs", are typically dismissed, but often not before the
defendants are subjected to great expense, harassment, and
interruption of their productive activities;
(e) The number of SLAPPs has increased significantly
over the past thirty years;
(f) SLAPPs are an abuse of the judicial process; they
are used to censor, chill, intimidate, or punish citizens,
businesses, and organizations for involving themselves in
public affairs; and controlling SLAPPs will contribute
significantly to lawsuit reform;
(g) The threat of financial liability, litigation costs,
destruction of one's business, loss of one's home, and other
personal losses from groundless lawsuits seriously affects
government, commerce, and individual rights by significantly
diminishing public participation in government and the
discussion of public issues;
(h) While the courts have recognized and discouraged
SLAPPs, protection of these important rights has not been
uniform or comprehensive;
(i) While some citizen communications to government
inevitably will be incorrect, unsound, or not in good faith,
it is essential to democracy that the constitutional rights of
citizens to participate fully in the process of government be
uniformly, consistently, and comprehensively protected and
encouraged.
(2) Purposes. The purposes of this part 10 are:
(a) To protect and encourage citizen participation in
government to the maximum extent permitted by law;
(b) To create a more equitable balance between the
rights of persons to file lawsuits and the rights of persons
to petition, speak out, associate, and otherwise participate in
their government;
(c) To support the operations of and assure the
continuation of representative government in America,
including the protection and regulation of public health,
safety, and welfare by protecting public participation in
government programs, public policy decisions, and other
public actions;
(d) To provide for attorney fees, costs, and damages
for persons whose citizen participation rights have been
violated by the filing of a SLAPP.
13-21-1003. Definitions. As used in this part 10, unless
the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Government" means a branch, department, agency,
official, employee, agent, or other person with authority to
act on behalf of the federal government, this state, or any
political subdivision of this state or other public authority.
(2) "Judicial claim" or "claim" means any civil lawsuit,
cause of action, claim, cross-claim, counterclaim, or other
judicial pleading or filing seeking damages or requesting
relief.
(3) "Motion" means any motion to dismiss or motion for
summary judgment or any other judicial pleading filed to
dispose of a judicial claim.
(4) "Moving party" means any person on whose behalf
the motion described in section 13-21-1004 is filed seeking
dismissal or other disposition of the judicial claim.
(5) "Person" means any individual, corporation,
association, organization, partnership, two or more persons
having a joint or common interest, or other legal entity.
(6) "Public participation" means speech, including but
not limited to oral, written, and electronic communication,
or conduct, except where it is not genuinely aimed in whole
or in part at procuring favorable government action at all.
(7) "Responding party" means any person against whom
the motion described in section 13-21-1004 is filed.
(8) "SLAPPs" or "SLAPP" means strategic lawsuits
against public participation.
13-21-1004. Protection of citizens to participate in
government - applicability - procedures. (1) This section applies
to any motion in a judicial proceeding to dismiss or otherwise
dispose of a judicial claim on the grounds that the claim
materially relates to an act of the moving party that
involves public participation.
(2) On the filing of any motion as described in
subsection (1) of this section:
(a) Discovery shall be suspended, pending the final
disposition of the motion, including any appeal; except that
the court may, on motion and after a hearing and for good
cause shown, order that specified and limited discovery be
conducted;
(b) The responding party shall have the burden of
proof, the burden of going forward with the evidence, and
the burden of persuasion on the motion;
(c) The court shall grant the motion and dismiss the
judicial claim unless the court finds that the responding
party has produced clear and convincing evidence that the
acts of the moving party are not immunized from liability
under section 13-21-1005; and
(d) Any governmental body to which the moving
party's acts were directed or the attorney general may
intervene in, defend, or otherwise support the moving party
in the SLAPP.
13-21-1005. Immunity - testimony under oath. (1) A
person engaging in public participation is immune from
liability.
(2) Any governmental entity that is taking testimony
from the public may, at its option, place a person under oath.
13-21-1006. Attorney fees and costs - damages. (1) The
court shall award to a moving party who prevails in a
motion to dismiss the costs of litigation, including
reasonable attorney fees, incurred in connection with the
motion.
(2) In addition to the award described in subsection (1)
of this section, in circumstances in which the moving party
prevails in a motion to dismiss, the court may impose such
additional sanctions upon the responding party, its
attorneys, or law firm as it determines will be sufficient to
deter repetition of such conduct and comparable conduct by
others similarly situated.
(3) In addition to the award described in subsection (1)
of this section, a person damaged or injured by reason of a
claim filed in violation of a person's rights under this part
10 may seek relief in the form of a claim for actual or
compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages, from the
person or persons responsible.
SECTION 2. Effective date - applicability. (1) This act shall
take effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly that
is allowed for submitting a referendum petition pursuant to article V,
section 1 (3) of the state constitution; except that, if a referendum
petition is filed against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
within such period, then the act, item, section, or part, if approved by
the people, shall take effect on the date of the official declaration of the
vote thereon by proclamation of the governor.
(2) The provisions of this act shall apply to any causes of action
filed on or after the applicable effective date of this act.