statute-of-limitations

A view of the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star).

Pa. House approves relief for childhood sexual abuse victims as standalone amendment

BY: and - May 22, 2023

A standalone constitutional amendment offering a two-year window for survivors to file claims of childhood sexual abuse in civil court saw approval from the Pennsylvania House on Monday.

Pennsylvania House passes eight bipartisan bills in productive return to session

BY: - April 28, 2023

Pennsylvania House lawmakers passed eight bipartisan bills, including four with unanimous approval, in the lower chamber’s return to session this week after a nearly two-month hiatus.  With a narrow one-vote majority for the first time in more than a decade, House committees also cued up a blizzard of bills on Democratic policy priorities, such as […]

COMMENTARY

Survivors want accountability and transparency. They’ve waited long enough | Opinion

BY: - April 26, 2023

By Katie M. Shipp As lawmakers return to Harrisburg this week, it is imperative that they prioritize passing window legislation that will allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice against perpetrators and the institutions that enabled them. As an attorney, I have received innumerable phone calls from adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The […]

Rozzi urges Pa. Senate to pass standalone survivors’ amendment

BY: - April 25, 2023

The survivors’ amendment was set to be on the ballot in 2021 but the Department of State failed to properly advertise the proposal and the referendum was not held. 

Pennsylvania Capitol Building. May 24, 2022. Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

Pa. House panel advances relief for abuse victims in opposition to Senate amendment bundle

BY: and - April 18, 2023

Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday took another step on the tortuous path toward long-sought legal relief for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, but the route to making it a reality remains to be mapped out. The House Judiciary Committee advanced standalone versions of a proposed constitutional amendment that would give abuse survivors a two-year exception to […]

COMMENTARY

Here’s how to end the stalemate over the civil justice window for abuse survivors | Opinion

BY: - March 17, 2023

Lawmakers are still fighting needlessly. Gov. Josh Shapiro can -- and should -- put it on the November ballot.

Pennsylvania Capitol Building. May 24, 2022. Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

Pa. Senate Democrats urge vote on House-approved proposals providing relief for abuse survivors

BY: - February 27, 2023

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats argue that the upper chamber hasn’t fulfilled a commitment to providing relief for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Bills granting relief to sexual abuse survivors pass House, head to Senate | Five for the Weekend

BY: - February 25, 2023

The bills would allow survivors of sexual abuse to file otherwise outdated lawsuits against their abusers.

Pa. House returns to pass sexual abuse survivors’ bills; GOP objects to special session rules

BY: - February 21, 2023

Returning to a special session after weeks of partisan gridlock, House lawmakers advanced relief for abuse survivors despite GOP objections.

Pa. House Speaker Rozzi headed for clash with Senate Republicans on abuse survivors’ bill

BY: and - February 20, 2023

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives will return to session on Tuesday with a Democratic majority and a speaker with a single-minded dedication to providing legal recourse for victims of childhood sexual abuse that he and others have sought for nearly two decades.  But the standalone legislation Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, intends to pass is at […]

Pa. House stalemate stops constitutional amendments from appearing on May ballot

BY: and - January 27, 2023

A department spokesperson said that the General Assembly must pass the constitutional amendment by Jan. 27 to appear on the May 2023 ballot.

Looking to solve a Harrisburg problem, Pa. House Speaker Rozzi turns to Pittsburgh for advice

BY: - January 25, 2023

The roughly 90 minute-long session  was held at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.