Waiting for my SLAPP bill to be heard in the Judiciary Committee, I scanned the room.

A majority of the committee members, it seemed, were new to Annapolis and the committee.

A good thing that I had not taken the hearing for granted.

I was ready to discuss the bill as if it had not already passed the House of Delegates  three times.

“A frivolous lawsuit to intimidate someone from exercising their First Amendment rights,” I began my testimony, “is a SLAPP suit.”

The only opponent was the Executive Director of Maryland Right to Life.

She asserted that my legislation would “create a huge legal loophole for news outlets and other bad actors to evade legal liability for acts of defamation.”

The Supreme Court of the United States determines the legal standard for defamation, not the General Assembly of Maryland.

This pro-life group opposed last year’s bill.

In response to my inquiry, the Attorney General’s office wrote that it’s legal argument was unsound.

I will again share that response with the committee.