House Bill 1947, the legislation that would change the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases, passed the Senate Committee Tuesday, but not before some changes were made.
The bill was first stripped of the amendment that would make it retroactive.
According to Senator John Eichelberger (R) representing the 30th District, the Senate Committee eliminated the statute of limitations for civil and criminal actions. This essentially puts no cap on the time frame a person may seek jutice. It also expanded the people who could be sued in civil lawsuits. That means, those who covered it up could also be sued.
Representative Mark Rozzi (D) of Berks County disagrees. He said the changes make it so only perpetrators can be sued, not the institutions. He added he thinks the new amendments are ridiculous.
“They got everything they wanted today,” he said. “Not only were they the criminals committing the crimes but they got the right legislation that protects them. At the end of the day, you know, this amendment is ********. They did it to protect the church. Scarnati was the hit man that did it.”
The bill will now move to the full Senate and can be voted on as early as Thursday.
