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A state law protecting journalists from revealing their sources will be a lot weaker if the Legislature keeps the amendments that the House Judiciary Committee has made to the , media experts say.

The committee on Tuesday inserted new exceptions that reduce the protections journalists have under the shield law. The committee passed amendments over the objections of a coalition of media outlets that want the Legislature to just make the law permanent in its . The law will expire June 30 unless lawmakers take action.

“We’re trying to find the right balance between what to protect and what not to,” Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads told Civil Beat Wednesday. “It seemed maybe we’d gone too far in protecting you guys.”

Hawaii’s shield law is considered among the strongest in the nation, and has been cited as a model for a national law. Only 10 states don’t have a law protecting journalists from revealing their sources or turning over their notes.

The Judiciary Committee’s amendments broaden the exceptions in which journalists have to disclose their sources.

Currently, Hawaii reporters only have to reveal their sources if there’s enough evidence that the source or protected information is critical to an investigation, a felony case or a defamation case.

But the bill that cleared the Judiciary Committee widens the exemptions to include potential felonies or serious crimes involving injury to persons or animals. Journalists could also be compelled to produce information for any civil action — not just defamation cases.

Jeff Portnoy, a prominent First Amendment attorney who helped draft the law four years ago, said he didn’t like the amendments or the process by which the changes were made.

Portnoy and a few members of the media that he represents attended the committee hearing Tuesday, offering testimony and making themselves available for any questions lawmakers might have. There were none, so the group left with the understanding that the bill would move forward unchanged.

Then apparently after the committee heard other bills, it revisited the shield law legislation and added the amendments without any discussion, Portnoy said.

“It’s very distressing that that’s how laws are made,” he said.

Beyond frustration with how Rhoads handled the hearing, Portnoy said the substance of the changes made to the bill was also unacceptable — particularly putting civil cases in as an exception for when journalists can be forced to disclose their sources and information.

“This is a battle we fought five years ago and everyone — the governor, the Attorney General, the Legislature — had no problem with it,” he said. “Now out of the blue, he decides to put civil cases back in. That’s totally unacceptable.”

Stirling Morita, who heads SPJ’s Hawaii Chapter, has said Hawaii’s current shield law is the broadest in the country in terms of protecting sources of information for media.

Morita said Wednesday that he isn’t too happy about the changes that were made.

“It sounds like now there would only be a handful of cases that would apply,” he said. “No other state or jurisdiction has such stringent coverage.”

Aside from including all civil cases, adding potential felony cases into the shield law also significantly expands the circumstances in which journalists could be forced to to disclose confidential information.

Deputy Solicitor General Deirdre Marie-Iha told the committee that the Hawaii Attorney General’s office doesn’t oppose a permanent shield law, but thinks the current one goes entirely too far.

She said the AG supports the shield law’s general purpose of protecting journalists’ sources, who might not otherwise come forward with important public information.

But the the shield law to apply to bloggers and non-traditional journalists. And the office also doesn’t want the law to protect unpublished information that isn’t likely to lead to the identification of a source. There’s no definition in the law for blogger or “non-traditional journalist.”

The Hawaii Shield Law Coalition, which includes the Society for Professional Journalists and Media Council Hawaii, worked for months to mobilize news outlets for this session. Civil Beat and other local news outlets are also participating in the coalition.

Portnoy said this is a critical year for the existence of the shield law in its present form. The law will expire June 30 unless lawmakers take action.

Morita and Portnoy urged the Judiciary Committee to make the law permanent without any amendments.

The coalition is working to formulate a strategy in response to the amendments, Morita said.

Former Gov. Linda Lingle, a former journalist, signed off on the current shield law in 2008, but it had a three-year sunset provision. Lawmakers extended it in 2011 for another two years, deciding not to make it permanent in part because members of the Judiciary’s evidence committee wanted to evaluate the law.

The Standing Committee on the Rules of Evidence recommended in a that the Legislature make the shield law permanent. But the committee suggested lawmakers revisit sections concerning bloggers, defamation and journalists’ unpublished information.

Morita said the law is important because it allows the media to delve into stories without having to worry about having to answer for every source that’s unattributed or unnamed in an article. He said this enhances the public’s right to know.

goes to the full House for a vote next. If approved, the bill will cross over to the Senate. It’s expected to get a hearing before the , chaired by Sen. Clayton Hee.