Federal Shield Law?

The Free Flow of Information Act of 2011, the same federal shield law legislation proposed in ‘05, ‘07, and ‘09, was once again proposed last week by Republican Representative Mike Pence of Indiana (in ’07 and ’09 the legislation passed in the House, but took its last breath on the Senate floor). The stated purpose of the bill: “To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.”

The Act would provide a qualified privilege for “covered persons,” with certain exceptions, among others, for national security, the prevention of death or bodily harm, and information deemed critical in a criminal case or civil suit where all reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. A “covered person” under the Act is defined as “a person who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public for a substantial portion of the person’s lively hood or for substantial financial gain….”

Nine states have passed shield laws since 2005, when the Free Flow of Information Act was first proposed (now 40 states and the District of Columbia have such laws; Maryland passed the first shield law in 1896). But state shield laws do not apply when federal law is at issue.

The Obama administration is the first to publicly support a Federal Shield Law. Perhaps four times is a charm…