SB 1165 - This act provides that certain individuals and entities that disseminate information to the public by print, broadcast, cable, satellite, mechanical, photographic, electronic, or other means shall not be required to disclose, in any state or federal proceeding, the source of such information. Such persons and entities also shall not be required to disclose any unpublished or non-broadcast information obtained or prepared in the gathering, receiving, or processing of information for any medium of public communication as described in this act. The person or entity seeking the information may move the circuit court in the county where the proceeding is located for an order to require a person claiming the privilege to disclose the information sought. The motion shall include the name of the person claiming the privilege, the entity with which he or she was connected at the time he or she obtained the information, the specific information sought and its relevancy to the proceeding, and the necessity of disclosure of the information.
The court, in granting or denying divestiture of the privilege, shall consider the nature of the proceedings, the merits of the claim or defense, the adequacy of any remedy otherwise available, if any, the possibility of establishing by other means that which it is alleged the source or information will tend to prove, the public interest in protecting the confidentiality of the source balanced against the public interest in requiring disclosure, and the relevancy of the source or information to the proceeding.
The court may only grant divestiture of the privilege if it finds, in a written order or in recorded proceedings, that:
1. The information sought does not involve matters or details necessary in any proceeding that are required to be kept secret under federal or state law; and that all other available sources of information have been exhausted; and
2. Disclosure of the information is essential to the protection of the public interest involved in the proceedings.
If the court orders divestiture of the privilege, it shall order disclosure of the information, subject to any protective conditions it deems necessary or appropriate. The privilege shall remain in effect during the pendency of any appeal.
This act is similar to SB 1013 (2006) and identical to SB 307 (2007).
ALEXA PEARSON