Bill > S2603

This bill establishes a new legal protection, an "affirmative defense," for individuals who make statements about sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination. This means if someone is sued for defamation (making a false statement that harms someone's reputation) because they spoke about such an incident, they can use this new defense. To qualify for this defense, the person making the statement must prove two things: that they acted "without malice" (meaning they didn't intentionally try to harm someone with false information) or "gross negligence" (meaning they weren't extremely careless in what they said), and that their communication was factual and related to a specific incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination, including various forms of workplace discrimination, housing discrimination, cyberbullying, and issues within higher education institutions. Importantly, this defense only applies if the individual making the statement had a reasonable basis to believe a complaint of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination could be filed, regardless of whether a formal complaint was actually made. Furthermore, if a defendant successfully uses this affirmative defense in a defamation lawsuit, they are entitled to recover their attorney's fees and costs, and potentially treble damages (three times the amount of harm caused to them by the lawsuit), in addition to any other legal remedies. This new law will become effective immediately upon its passage.

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