T1NC Letter to State Lege re HB2162 (Anti SLAPP “Reform.” )

Note: The second reading of this bill will be on April 24th. Feel free to use this letter as a template and send to the addresses below letter. Also include your own representatives. State Senator Menendez and State Representative Bernal are already aware and have committed to working against its passage. For more information, please read “A Perspective on HB 2162

Tier One Neighborhood Coalition (T1NC) is a group of San Antonio downtown (inside Loop 410) neighborhoods organized to advocate and work for appropriate development, as well as other important issues that affect our communities, and to promote communication, cooperation, education, and support among neighborhoods. Contact *t1nc.sat@gmail.com* *or visit T1NC.org ormail to P.O. Box 12337, San Antonio, TX, 78212*

April 18, 2019

Dear Members of the Legislature,

We write to you as a coalition of 56 San Antonio neighborhoods and 16 partner organizations to express our opposition to HB 2730 and its companion, SB 2162.

The Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA), signed into law in 2011 and updated in 2013, was designed to protect the average citizen’s rights to free speech and participation in government from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Just last year, the Texas Supreme Court opined that the TCPA has a “unique role in protecting the democratic process that allows our state to function.”

HB 2730, and its companion SB 1488, would strip away key protections from the existing law and would leave the average citizen vulnerable to financial ruin by meritless lawsuits filed by plaintiffs with deep pockets. Healthy public debate would be quickly replaced with silence as advocates and citizens who speak on matters of public concern would lose the protection provided by the TCPA. Citizens should not be forced into silence simply because an opposing party can outspend them while navigating the legal system.

We ask that you help us preserve our First Amendment rights and allow us to continue to be an effective voice for neighborhoods by joining us in our opposition to this bill.

Respectfully,

Tier One Neighborhood Coalition Steering Committee

Cosima Colvin, Christine Drennon, Tony Garcia, Homer “Butch” Hayes, Cullen Jones, Ricki Kushner, Velma Pena, Cynthia Spielman, Amelia Valdez, and Theresa Ybanez

Authors:

Four.price@house.texas.gov

Sandra.talton@house.texas.gov

joe.moody@house.texas.gov

Ellic.sahualla@house.texas.gov

dustin.burrows@house.texas.gov

Sara.schmidt@house.texas.gov

Committee Members:

Jeff.Leach@house.texas.gov (Author)

Sean.Mason@house.texas.gov

Jessica.farrar@house.texas.gov

Idalid.navarro@house.texas.gov