Pennsylvania Adopts Stronger Anti-SLAPP Law

On July 17th, Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania signed into law H.B. 1466 which provides Pennsylvania with stronger protections against SLAPP lawsuits that are designed to prevent an individual or organization from exercising their First Amendment rights. The legislation first passed the Pennsylvania House unanimously in October of 2023, and then passed the Senate in July with a minor amendment and was subsequently cleared by the House a day later. Prior to the enactment of this new law, Pennsylvania's anti-SLAPP law was narrow in scope and applied only to individuals petitioning the government about environmental issues. The new law is largely based on the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), making Pennsylvania the ninth state to adopt the UPEPA model statute to protect free speech. Read more.