S.F. 2178 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 659B.1 Definitions. 1 For the purposes of this chapter, unless the context 2 otherwise requires: 3 1. “Communication” means factual information related to 4 an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination 5 experienced by the individual making the communication, 6 including any of the following: 7 a. An act of sexual harassment, as described in section 8 708.7, subsection 1, paragraph “a” , subparagraph (5). 9 b. An act of workplace harassment or discrimination, failure 10 to prevent an act of workplace harassment or discrimination, 11 aiding, abetting, inciting, compelling, or coercing an 12 act of workplace harassment or discrimination, or an act 13 of retaliation against a person for reporting or opposing 14 workplace harassment or discrimination. 15 c. An act of sexual harassment. 16 d. An act of harassment or discrimination, or an act of 17 retaliation against a person for reporting harassment or 18 discrimination. 19 e. An act of cyber sexual bullying. 20 2. “Cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of, or 21 the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a sexual image 22 by a student to another student or to school personnel by means 23 of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to 24 have one or more of the following effects: 25 a. Placing a reasonable student in fear of harm to that 26 student’s person or property. 27 b. Causing a reasonable student to experience a 28 substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or 29 mental health. 30 c. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial 31 interference with the student’s academic performance. 32 d. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial 33 interference with the student’s ability to participate in or 34 benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided 35 -1- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 1/ 7

S.F. 2178 by a school. 1 3. “Sexual harassment” means unwelcome sexual advances, 2 requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or 3 physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or 4 in the work or educational setting, under any of the following 5 conditions: 6 a. Submission to the conduct is explicitly or implicitly 7 made a term or a condition of an individual’s employment, 8 academic status, or progress. 9 b. Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the 10 individual is used as the basis of employment or academic 11 decisions affecting the individual. 12 c. The conduct has the purpose or effect of having a 13 negative impact upon the individual’s work or academic 14 performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or 15 offensive work or educational environment. 16 d. Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by the 17 individual is used as the basis for any decision affecting 18 the individual regarding benefits and services, honors, 19 programs, or activities available at or through the educational 20 institution. 21 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 659B.2 Incidents of sexual assault, 22 harassment, or discrimination —— privileged communications. 23 1. A communication made by a person who has or had a 24 reasonable basis to file a complaint of sexual assault, 25 harassment, or discrimination regarding the communication, 26 whether or not the complaint was filed, shall not be liable for 27 libel or slander if the communcation was made without malice. 28 2. If a defamation action is brought against a person who 29 made such a privileged communication, the defendant may apply 30 for expedited review pursuant to section 659B.3. 31 3. A prevailing defendant in any civil action brought 32 pursuant to chapter 659 for making a communication that 33 is privileged under this section is entitled to all of the 34 following: 35 -2- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 2/ 7

S.F. 2178 a. Reasonable attorney fees and costs. 1 b. Noneconomic damages for any harm caused to the defendant 2 by the libel or slander action. 3 c. Punitive damages. 4 d. Any other relief otherwise permitted by law. 5 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 659B.3 Special motion for expedited 6 relief. 7 Not later than sixty days after a party is served with a 8 petition, crossclaim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other 9 pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this chapter 10 applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the 11 party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss 12 the cause of action or part of the cause of action. 13 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 659B.4 Stay. 14 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 4 through 15 7, on the filing of a motion under section 659B.3, all of the 16 following apply: 17 a. All other proceedings between the moving party and 18 responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or 19 motion, are stayed. 20 b. On motion by the moving party, the court may stay a 21 hearing or motion involving another party, or discovery by 22 another party, if the hearing or ruling on the motion would 23 adjudicate, or the discovery would relate to, an issue material 24 to the motion under section 659B.3. 25 2. A stay under subsection 1 remains in effect until entry 26 of an order ruling on the motion under section 659B.3 and 27 expiration of the time under section 659B.9 for the moving 28 party to appeal the order. 29 3. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 5, 6, and 30 7, if a party appeals from an order ruling on a motion under 31 section 659B.3, all proceedings between all parties in the 32 action are stayed. The stay remains in effect until the 33 conclusion of the appeal. 34 4. During a stay under subsection 1, the court may allow 35 -3- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 3/ 7

S.F. 2178 limited discovery if a party shows that specific information is 1 necessary to establish whether a party has satisfied or failed 2 to satisfy a burden under section 659B.7, subsection 1, and 3 the information is not reasonably available unless discovery 4 is allowed. 5 5. A motion under section 659B.10 for costs, attorney fees, 6 and expenses is not subject to a stay under this section. 7 6. A stay under this section does not affect a party’s 8 ability to voluntarily dismiss a cause of action or part of a 9 cause of action or move to sever a cause of action. 10 7. During a stay under this section, the court for good 11 cause may hear and rule on all of the following: 12 a. A motion unrelated to the motion under section 659B.3. 13 b. A motion seeking a special or preliminary injunction to 14 protect against an imminent threat to public health or safety. 15 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 659B.5 Hearing. 16 1. The court shall hear a motion under section 659B.3 not 17 later than sixty days after filing of the motion, unless the 18 court orders a later hearing for any of the following: 19 a. To allow discovery under section 659B.4, subsection 4. 20 b. For other good cause. 21 2. If the court orders a later hearing under subsection 1, 22 paragraph “a” , the court shall hear the motion under section 23 659B.3 not later than sixty days after the court order allowing 24 the discovery, unless the court orders a later hearing under 25 subsection 1, paragraph “b” . 26 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 659B.6 Proof. 27 In ruling on a motion under section 659B.3, the court shall 28 consider the pleadings, the motion, any reply or response to 29 the motion, and any evidence that could be considered in ruling 30 on a motion for summary judgment under rule of civil procedure 31 1.981. 32 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 659B.7 Dismissal of cause of action 33 in whole or part. 34 1. In ruling on a motion under section 659B.3, the court 35 -4- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 4/ 7

S.F. 2178 shall dismiss with prejudice a cause of action, or part of a 1 cause of action, if any of the following are true: 2 a. The responding party fails to establish a prima facie 3 case as to each essential element of the cause of action. 4 b. The moving party establishes that any of the following: 5 (1) The responding party failed to state a cause of action 6 upon which relief can be granted. 7 (2) There is no genuine issue as to any material fact and 8 the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on 9 the action or part of an action. 10 2. A voluntary dismissal without prejudice of a responding 11 party’s cause of action, or part of a cause of action, that is 12 the subject of a motion under section 659B.3 does not affect a 13 moving party’s right to obtain a ruling on the motion and seek 14 costs, attorney fees, and expenses under section 659B.10. 15 3. A voluntary dismissal with prejudice of a responding 16 party’s cause of action, or part of a cause of action, that is 17 the subject of a motion under section 659B.3 establishes for 18 the purpose of section 659B.10 that the moving party prevailed 19 on the motion. 20 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 659B.8 Ruling. 21 The court shall rule on a motion under section 659B.3 not 22 later than sixty days after a hearing under section 659B.5. 23 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 659B.9 Appeal. 24 A moving party may appeal as a matter of right from an order 25 denying, in whole or in part, a motion under section 659B.3. 26 The appeal must be filed not later than thirty days after entry 27 of the order. 28 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 659B.10 Costs, attorney fees, and 29 expenses. 30 On a motion under section 659B.3, the court shall award court 31 costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation 32 expenses related to the motion in the following circumstances: 33 1. To the moving party if the moving party prevails on the 34 motion. 35 -5- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 5/ 7

S.F. 2178 2. To the responding party if the responding party prevails 1 on the motion and the court finds that the motion was frivolous 2 or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 This bill establishes certain privileges for communications 7 made regarding incidents of sexual assault, harassment, or 8 discrimination and creates a special motion for expedited 9 relief in those actions involving defamation, libel, and 10 slander. The bill provides definitions. 11 The bill applies to a cause of action asserted in a civil 12 action against a person involving communications about sexual 13 assault, harassment, or discrimination are not actionable 14 under Code chapter 659 unless made with malice. The bill only 15 applies to a person that has, or at any time had, a reasonable 16 basis to file a complaint of sexual abuse, harassment, or 17 discrimination, whether the complaint is, or was, filed or not. 18 The bill provides for attorney fees and damages available to 19 a prevailing defendant in any action brought under Code chapter 20 659 (libel and slander) against that defendant for making that 21 communication. The bill allows a defendant in an action of 22 such privileged communication to request an expedited review. 23 The bill further provides for a prevailing defendant in any 24 libel or slander action to recover (1) reasonable attorney fees 25 and costs, (2) noneconomic damages, (3) punitive damages, and 26 (4) any other relief otherwise permitted by law. 27 The bill provides that no later than 60 days after being 28 served with a cause of action to which the bill applies, or 29 at a later time upon showing of good cause, a party may file 30 a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause 31 of action or part of the cause of action. The filing of 32 the special motion stays all other proceedings between the 33 parties, and the court has discretion to stay a proceeding 34 involving another party if the hearing or ruling on motion 35 -6- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 6/ 7

S.F. 2178 would adjudicate an issue material to the motion. A hearing 1 shall be held no later than 60 days after filing the motion, 2 unless the court orders a later hearing to allow discovery 3 or for good cause. A stay remains in effect until an order 4 ruling on the motion is entered and the 30-day appeal period 5 following the order has concluded. During a stay, the court 6 may allow limited discovery if a party shows the information 7 is not reasonably available and that specific information 8 is necessary to establish whether a party has satisfied the 9 party’s burden under the bill. The court may also, for good 10 cause, hear and rule on motions unrelated to the special motion 11 and a motion seeking an injunction. The bill provides that a 12 motion for costs, attorney fees, and expenses is not subject 13 to the special motion for expedited relief stay. The parties’ 14 ability to voluntarily dismiss or move to sever is not affected 15 by the special motion for expedited relief stay. 16 The bill provides that in ruling on a special motion for 17 expedited relief, the court shall dismiss with prejudice a 18 cause of action, or part of a cause of action, if the moving 19 party establishes that either the responding party fails to 20 establish a prima facie case as to each essential element of 21 the cause of action or the moving party establishes that the 22 responding party failed to state a cause of action upon which 23 relief can be granted or there is no genuine issue as to any 24 material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as 25 a matter of law on the cause of action or part of the cause of 26 action. 27 The bill provides that the court may award court costs, 28 reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation fees 29 relating to the special motion to the prevailing party. 30 -7- LSB 5141XS (4) 90 cm/jh 7/ 7