Sen. Angela Paxton introduced SB 2162, a bill that would amend the Texas anti-SLAPP, TCPA, law. She is an American politician from the state of Texas. A Republican, she has represented District 8 in the Texas Senate since 2019. Paxton is the wife of Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General. Paxton worked as a guidance counselor at Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco, Texas.

Her amendment would:

1. 27.001 – Definitions would be replaced. The rights protected would only be “constitutional” rights; right of association would be replaced with “associate freely“. Legal Action would require that pleadings or filings be request for “substantive relief” and would exclude discovery motions, summary judgment motions, actions to enforce final court orders and motions for sanctions or attorney’s fees.
2. 27.002 – Change purpose of the act to “provide a set of procedures…”
3. 27.003(a) – Deletes “relates to” in “If  a legal action is based on, [relates to] or is in response to….” and would limit protected activity to the party’s exercise of “constitutional” rights and would delete “right of association” in favor of “associate freely“.
4. 27.004 – Add subsection (d) which would require a hearing be set “not earlier than 21 days after the service of the motion”, and (e) “Each party must have at least 14 days’ notice of a hearing…”
5. 27.005 (b) – Deletes “relates to” and changes “right of association” to “associate freely“.
6. 27.005 (e) – Court may not rule on a motion if the responding party files a nonsuit on or before the third day before the hearing date.
7. 27.009 (c) – No attorney’s fees, sanctions, cost or expenses if responding party nonsuits on or before the third day before the hearing date.
8. 27.010 – Exemptions would increase by three or five if you count the sub-parts including Title 1, 2, 4, or 5 of the Family Code, noncompete agreements, nondisclosure agreements and non-disparagement agreements.