Paul Renner responds to Cory Mills’ urge to ‘reassess’ defamation bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Florida House Speaker Paul Renner responded to questions Friday about U.S. Rep. Cory Mills’ letter, which asked state Republican leadership to “reassess” a defamation bill over free speech concerns.

“I think free speech rights are really, really, important,” Renner said. “Media rights are very, very important.”

The proposed bill changes who is considered a public figure and creates a presumption that a statement by an anonymous source is false for purposes of a defamation action.

Florida’s Voice first broke the news on Mills’ letter.

While Mills said he believes the motivations are “genuine” and “made in good faith,” he expressed concerns.

“I am gravely concerned that they violate the free speech rights that are enshrined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Mills said in the letter.

Renner said when the bill becomes law, it would be a “test case” to challenge New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, which raised the standard for someone deemed a public figure to reach in order to bring a cause of action.

“It’s not intended to undermine free speech. It’s simply designed to create a challenge and allow, as the governor has asked, to have the court give a second look at that aspect of defamation,” Renner said. “Truth is a defense to defamation.”

Mills said the bill would “target speech based on its content,” “tilt the playing field in favor of plaintiffs in certain defamation actions” and “functionally eliminate” anonymous sources “even in cases involving corporate and government whistleblowers.”

Renner said the bill is in response to people “weaponizing anonymous sources that maybe don’t really exist.”

“Using or hiding behind a court decision that’s now really becoming about spreading false information, spreading lies about people defaming people,” Renner said.

Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, filed the bill the same month Gov. Ron DeSantis held a roundtable urging private action to fight against media defamation.

Andrade has told Florida’s Voice that media outlets have “played fast and loose with the truth” as expected standards have not been followed.

“It really just protects non-elected individuals from being considered public figures and having to meet some subjectively, higher standard,” Andrade said.

Mills said that he agrees that some media companies have “abused their constitutional protections” and allowed journalists to push their political agendas.

“However, these bills do not affect just those outlets,” Mills said. “If passed, they will stifle all media voices – whether liberal, conservative, or neutral- that your constituents have come to trust and rely on, as well as any individual who chooses to exercise their rights to freedom of speech.”

A FOX radio station owner, which features prominent conservative hosts, recently said the proposed Florida defamation bill will lead to the “death of conservative talk” in Florida.

However, the Republican sponsor of the defamation bill, HB 991, said the concerns are “overblown” and said it does not open the floodgates to lawsuits.

Andrade said the bill does not change current provisions in Florida law to protect broadcasters.

“This bill does not open up the floodgates on broadcasters or publications. There’s nothing in this bill that does that,” Andrade said. 

HB 991 has passed one House committee while a similar version of the Senate bill passed one committee.