Written by: Sarah Johnson | September 14, 2017

We’ve been talking about anti-protestor legislation since it took over after the Standing Rock protests last year. We covered issues surrounding protesting with Protesting: Sparking Change or Putting Yourself in Danger? when protests started taking this country by storm during Standing Rock and after. Anti-protestor legislation then followed throughout the nation and had a light re-shined onto it with the events of Charlottesville. Check out my opinion piece about this whole situation and legislation surrounding the issues.

This is a brief update of the bills that have recently been proposed that support the “anti-protest” movement. Here is a map of the bills from this year:


One of the most concerning bills is PA SB754 or a bill that “provides for liability for public safety response costs”. This bill would make “a person responsible for public safety response costs incurred by a State agency or political subdivision as a result of the State agency’s or political subdivision’s response to a demonstration if, in connection with the demonstration, the person is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor offense.” It puts protesters on the hook for costs like police overtime, medical or emergency response, or other basic public services associated with protests. The issues associated with this, like we saw in Charlottesville, is that people of color are disproportionately charged with crimes while protesting and this could lead law enforcement to be dedicated that each and every charge sticks which can also lead to issues. This bill is currently alive.

SD SB176 allows the governor to set up “public safety zones” in which protest activities can be limited to gatherings of 20 people or less. It also authorizes the state’s Department of Transportation to restrict protester access to highways by prohibiting “stopping, standing or parking” in certain areas. This bill passed.

AZ SB1142 would have made participating in or helping organize a protest that turns into a riot an offense that could lead to criminal racketeering charges would allow prosecutors to seize a person’s assets in addition to enhanced criminal charges. This bill failed.

WA SB5009 is a bill “pushing back against what it refers to as “economic terrorism,” by increasing penalties for protesters who block access to highways and railways. This bill is currently alive.  Indiana wanted to authorize police to use “any means necessary” to break up mass gatherings that block traffic. This bill failed.

Colorado proposed legislation to lock up protesters for up to 18 months for obstructing or tampering with oil and gas equipment and charge them with up to $100,000 in fines. This bill failed. South Dakota signed a bill that caps the number of people allowed to gather on public lands at 20. This bill passed. Tennessee drivers who injure protesters blocking traffic would be exempt from civil liability so long as they were “exercising due care.” This bill is currently alive.

“Back the Badge Act of 2017” in Georgia approved a package of bills extending protections for law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty, even though the bills raised questions over whether some of the measures may interfere with Georgians’ first amendment right to protest. This bill passed.

 

All of these bills are highly alarming and show an increasing trend in trying to stifle the people’s right to protest.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

 

About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 offers free tools for citizens to easily research legislators and bills across all 50 states and Congress. BillTrack50 also offers professional tools to help organizations with ongoing legislative and regulatory tracking, as well as easy ways to share information both internally and with the public.