# 116-hr-7771: Citizen Participation Act of 2020

116-hr-7771, Citizen Participation Act of 2020, is a 116th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN); status Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-7771
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 116-hr-7771
- Congress: 116
- Title: Citizen Participation Act of 2020
- Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Introduced: 2020-07-24
- Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Law
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Citizen Participation Act of 2020 This bill establishes that an act in furtherance of the constitutional right of petition or free speech, without knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard of falsity on the actor's part, shall be immune from civil liability. The bill also contains other related provisions. The party seeking to overcome this immunity shall have the burden of proving that the party claiming the immunity acted with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard of falsity. A party in such a case may file a special motion to dismiss any claim related to an act of petitioning the government or free speech. The court involved shall hear such a motion on an expedited basis. Furthermore, a party asserting immunity under this bill in state court may remove the case to federal court. In addition, if a party in such a case in federal court is seeking an order to obtain the personal identifying information of a person, that person may file a special motion to quash the order seeking that personal identifying information. A party that successfully obtains a special motion to dismiss or motion to quash under this bill shall be entitled to litigation costs, including reasonable attorney's fees.

## Related bills

- 116-hr-9033: College Athletes Bill of Rights
- 116-hr-8918: Reducing Obesity in Youth Act of 2020
- 116-hr-8912: Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of State Act
- 116-hr-8899: Transatlantic Te­le­com­mu­ni­ca­tions Security Act
- 116-hr-8889: Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Repair Act of 2020
- 116-hr-8886: Emergency Eviction Enforcement Act of 2020

## Sources
- [116-hr-7771 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7771)

## Related
- [116-hr-9033: College Athletes Bill of Rights](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-9033)
- [116-hr-8918: Reducing Obesity in Youth Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8918)
- [116-hr-8912: Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of State Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8912)
- [116-hr-8899: Transatlantic Te­le­com­mu­ni­ca­tions Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8899)
- [116-hr-8889: Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Repair Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8889)
- [116-hr-8886: Emergency Eviction Enforcement Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8886)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-7771 (as of 2025-11-18).