DelawareAN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNIFORM PUBLIC EXPRESSION PROTECTION ACT.
What it does
This Act adopts the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act ("the Act") authored by the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Law Commission “provides states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law.” The Act was adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in October 2020 and has been adopted in 10 states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is currently pending in 10 states.
More detail
The Act protects the public’s right to engage in activities protected by the First Amendment without abusive, expensive legal retaliation. Specifically, the Act combats the problem of strategic lawsuits against public participation, also called “SLAPPs.” A SLAPP may come in the form of a defamation, invasion of privacy, nuisance, or other claim, but its real goal is to entangle the defendant of a SLAPP in expensive litigation and stifle the ability to engage in constitutionally protected activities. While Delaware has an “anti-SLAPP” law (see §§ 8136 through 8138 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code), the law received a score of “D-” from the Institute for Free Speech due to limited types of speech it protects and lack of basic protections provided by the Act.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2025
- Sep 15Signed by Governor Matt MeyerBecame Law
- Jun 26Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YESMajor
- Vote recorded Passage. Result: pass.Upper
- Jun 25Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 1 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT 1 VACANTPassed House
- Vote recorded Passage. Result: pass.Lower
- Jun 25Amendment HA 2 to SB 80 - Passed In House by Voice VoteMajor
- Jun 25Amendment HA 1 to SB 80 - Stricken in House
- Jun 25Amendment HA 2 to SB 80 - Introduced and Placed With BillMinor
- Jun 18Amendment HA 1 to SB 80 - Introduced and Placed With BillMinor
- Jun 11Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 7 On Its MeritsMinor
- May 15Assigned to Judiciary Committee in HouseMinor
- May 14Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENTPassed Senate
- Vote recorded Passage. Result: pass.Upper
- May 7Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 5 Favorable, 1 On Its MeritsMinor
- Mar 25Introduced and Assigned to Executive Committee in SenateIntroduced