Sex abuse bill dealt setback

It wasn’t rejected by voters, it wasn’t shot down by his colleagues.

Instead, it is an error that has sidetracked what state Rep. Mark Rozzi has dedicated the last seven years of his life to achieving.

On Monday, news broke that the Pennsylvania Department of State discovered that a mistake will block voters from deciding this spring whether to allow survivors sexually abused as children to sue those responsible.

“I’m still in shock,” Rozzi said shortly after learning of the situation. “My heart is just torn apart today for all the victims out there who thought we were so close to getting the justice that they deserve. I’m just completely devastated today.”

The mistake was that the department did not advertise, as required, the proposed amendment to the state constitution that would open a two-year window for litigation by survivors who have aged out of the statute of limitations.

“The department offers a sincere apology to the victims impacted by this oversight and the delay that will be caused, as well as to all those working to pass this measure,” agency spokeswoman Wanda Murren said. “Department staff advertised other proposed constitutional amendments passed during the last legislative session, but through simple human error mistakenly failed to include this proposed constitutional amendment in the advertisements.”

Murren said the error was discovered late last week in preparation for the potential second passage of the amendment this month.

In response to the revelation, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar will be leaving the administration Friday.

Wolf said the delay caused by the error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault and those who worked so hard in advocating for the legislation.

“I join the Department of State in apologizing to you,” he said to survivors in a press release. “I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice. The progress that you have made through your bravery and activism is remarkable, and I urge all of the advocates ... to keep up this fight. Your voices still must be heard.”

Session after session Rozzi had championed legislation that would retroactively extend the timeline survivors have to file civil action against their abusers. For the Muhlenberg Township Democrat it has been a chance to channel his struggle with the memory of being raped by a priest as a teen into fighting for his fellow victims.

But session after session the legislation stalled in the Senate, with opponents claiming the provision was unconstitutional and would open a floodgate to lawsuits over acts that occurred decades ago.

So last spring Rozzi changed his strategy.

Instead of directly suspending current law to open the window, he joined a group of lawmakers proposing to amend the state constitution to get that done. Constitutional amendments must be passed in the Legislature in two consecutive sessions before appearing on statewide ballots.

That effort has made Rozzi the face of the issue. So much so that when the amendment was first approved by the Legislature last fall, Wolf visited his district in Berks County to sign the legislation with the lawmaker seated beside him.

It was just approved again last month by the House and is expected to soon pass the Senate. The goal was to get the question placed on the upcoming spring primary ballot.

But the error means the process has to begin anew, with the Legislature approving it in this session and the next. The earliest it could appear on the ballot now would be spring 2023.

“I think I’m just stunned that the secretary of state did not do her job,” Rozzi said, adding that he received a call from the governor Monday morning explaining what had happened. “I feel like this is a bad dream.”

Rozzi said there’s still another option available if his colleagues are willing to abandon the constitutional amendment. He said he believes the original legislation he had been advocating could withstand a court challenge based on its merits.

“We can still get this done,” he said. “There is still a solution here, but the question remains whether my colleagues are willing to correct the damage that has been done.”