Exiting Pennsylvania Governor Wants Lawmakers to Increase Statute of Limitations for Victims of Child Sex Abuse
January 8, 2023 | Pennsylvania
Exiting Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf was suddenly moved, Friday, to call for a special session of the General Assembly—House and Senate—for Monday, Jan. 9, to propose a constitutional amendment to retroactively extend the timeline for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil actions.
Wolf has had almost two years to work with the General Assembly on this issue after the Department of State failed to publicly advertise the proposed amendment would appear on a statewide ballot, as required by law. As a result of the failure to advertise, then-Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, who oversaw the state’s 2020 election, stepped down.
The lengthy process of changing the Pennsylvania Constitution works like this:
- Identical proposals to change the Constitution must pass the House and Senate in two consecutive legislative sessions. Each session is two years, so the process can take up to four years to get it through both houses two times.
- Advertise the proposed amendment to the public so they are aware of the changes and can see how it will be presented on the ballot.
- The measure goes on a statewide ballot and the public decides if the change should be made.
After a 2018 grand jury investigation into child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, the General Assembly agreed to a constitutional amendment that would have retroactively extended a timeline for victims to sue their abusers in civil court for financial damages. The rationale was that victims often wait years to disclose the abuse, coming forward after the statute of limitations for legal remedies has closed.
“In February 2021, we were gravely disappointed to learn that the Department of State had failed to advertise the proposed constitutional amendment,” Wolf wrote in his proclamation Friday. “At that time, I apologized profusely and committed to working with the General Assembly to reach a swift legislative resolution.”… (Excerpt from The Epoch Times)
