HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Some child sexual abuse victims may have to wait two years or more to file lawsuits because of a huge bureaucratic mess that sparked furious denunciations across the political spectrum on Monday and the resignation of Pennsylvania’s top electoral officer.
A proposal for a state constitutional amendment allowing lawsuits for otherwise outdated claims has not been announced as necessary and therefore cannot appear on the ballot this spring, Wolf’s administration said.
The Pennsylvania State Department in a press release called it “simple human error” and apologized, saying the error was discovered late last week. As a result, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is quitting her job, and both the inspector general and the legislature will be investigating the matter.
“The delay caused by this human error will be painful for thousands of survivors of child sexual assault, advocates and lawmakers, and I join the State Department to apologize to you,” said Democratic Governor Tom Wolf in a statement. “I share your anger and frustration that it happened, and I am by your side in your fight for justice.”
He and other Democrats suggested on Monday that lawmakers would instead approve the two-year window of the process as regular legislation, which would make the proposed constitutional amendment unnecessary.
Democratic House leader Joanna McClinton has proposed accelerating the constitutional amendment through an emergency clause requiring two-thirds of the votes of each chamber. According to this procedure, the electoral referendum could take place after a month.
Republican House spokesman Jason Gottesman said that caucus leaders are irritated by the error, first reported by Spotlight PA.
“I think the people who should be very upset are one, the victims who will not have justice, again delayed by the incompetence of this government, and the people of Pennsylvania who cannot trust this government to carry out the basic processes,” said Gottesman. .
Constitutional amendments must pass through both chambers in two successive two-year sessions before being presented to voters in a referendum like the final OK. This was expected to happen in the May 18 primaries.
“At best, that was incompetence,” said Senate President Pro Tempore, Jake Corman, R-Center. “In the worst case, that was bad conduct.”
Senate Republicans have promised to investigate.
Proposals are also expected to be announced at each two-year session, but this did not happen for the amendment of the statute of limitations during the session that ended on 30 November. The Wolf government on Monday promised to install new controls and tracking to ensure the error is not repeated.
The State Department said its workers “announced other proposals for constitutional amendments approved during the last legislative session, but for simple human error they did not include this proposal for a constitutional amendment in the ads”.
As Wolf’s chief electoral authority, Boockvar became a political lightning rod by playing a prominent role in the disputed 2020 election in Pennsylvania, conducted with new electronic ballot boxes and a widely expanded postal voting regime. She declined comment on Monday.
“I’m just shocked,” said state deputy Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, one of the main advocates of the amendment. “I just can’t believe this is where we are now in this process, that the Secretary of State dropped the ball.”
Last week, the State House gave what was thought to be its final approval of a proposal to change the Pennsylvania Constitution to give those who claim to be victims of child sexual abuse a two-year retroactive “window” to file civil actions, it doesn’t matter how long ago the alleged abuse took place.
Victims of child sexual abuse have long sought another chance to prosecute their perpetrators or institutions that covered them up. Many of them lost the chance to sue when they turned 18, or as young adults, depending on the state law at the time.
In 2018, a report by the historic state grand jury gave the fight a new lease of life, recommending that now adult victims of child sexual abuse receive a two-year suspension of time limits in state law that would otherwise prevent them from prosecuting. .
The House of Representatives approved it weeks later, with the support of Wolf, Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Democratic Senate leaders and defenders of the victims.
However, Senate Republicans blocked a vote in plenary, calling it unconstitutional. It was also opposed by Roman Catholic bishops in Pennsylvania and the insurance industry, who said their premiums never accounted for the potential of such responsibility.
State dioceses opened temporary compensation funds to victims and lawmakers later agreed to start the multi-year process to amend the constitution to allow for the two-year window.