Victims of childhood sexual abuse apparently will see no legislative remedy from the state Capitol this year, barring any new proposal.

In the final hours remaining in the legislative session, the state Senate lacked the votes to act on a measure that would have broadly reformed child sex crime laws, lawmakers and advocates said.

The bill would have eliminated the statute of limitations in criminal cases of child sexual abuse. But the measure stalled after hours of heated debate over a proposal that would have allowed victims only a limited ability to sue predators.

Critics opposed a new proposal that emerged Wednesday that would prevent victims from suing institutions, including the Catholic Church. Victims and advocates condemned the measure and House members vowed to reject it.

Lawmakers and victims advocates said there weren't enough votes to move the bill. So barring late action, the measure appears to be stalled until the new legislative session begins in January. Wednesday was the Senate's last scheduled day.

At a press conference in the Capitol late Wednesday night, Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Democratic lawmakers chided the Republican-controlled Senate for ignoring victims.

"Senate leaders prioritized the church over the victims," Shapiro said.

Some lawmakers and advocates had pushed for a window to allow victims to sue and that was one of the key recommendations in the grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, who had earlier said a retroactive window to file lawsuits would be unconstitutional, pushed the plan for a limited period for victims to sue individuals. Speaking late Wednesday night, a hoarse Scarnati excoriated those who he said fought to derail a plan to help all victims of child sexual abuse.

"I wanted to find middle ground and I wanted to negotiate in good faith," Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, said. "Unfortunately no one else during the past weeks and months decided to move or negotiate."

Scarnati said he would bring senators back to Harrisburg if other lawmakers come up with a plan that can pass his chamber.

In a statement, Gov. Tom Wolf said he was disappointed that "survivors must wait longer for justice." The Democratic governor has supported the effort to allow victims to pursue legal action against the Catholic Church.

"Through this process, a bipartisan coalition has come together to support these recommendations and I believe that we will ultimately prevail," Wolf said. "Today was a setback but we cannot allow it to deter our dedication to doing the right thing for the victims."

Heated debate

The legislation stalled after hours of negotiations behind closed doors Wednesday.

Under the revised bill, beginning Jan. 1, 2020 adults who were sexually abused as children would have been given a two-year period to file civil lawsuits against predators. Advocates have clamored for a retroactive window for victims of child sexual abuse that occurred decades ago and is beyond the statute of limitations.

But under the revised proposal, victims would have been allowed to name only their abuser in the lawsuits and not the institution.

Shapiro had pressed for the window throughout the day Wednesday. Earlier in the day, he touted the need for such a window after a former priest in the Erie diocese pleaded guilty to crimes relating to the sexual assault of a boy.

More than 1,000 children were sexually abused in Catholic dioceses across the state over a period of seven decades, according to the grand jury report released in August. The grand jury recommended that the Legislature enact a retroactive window to sue as a safeguard to preventing such systemic abuse from happening again.

The exemption of institutions from lawsuits largely disarmed its impact for victims, critics say. The vast majority of predatory priests identified by several grand jury investigations statewide are dead.

Barred from suing church officials or dioceses, victims would have had few legal avenues, opponents said.

"The Republican-led Senate walked away from the victims and walked away from justice," said state Sen. Vince Hughes, a Philadelphia Democrat.

Clash over compensation fund



Senate Bill 261 would have broadly reformed the state's child sex crimes law, eliminating criminal statutes on child sex abuse going forward. Under current law, victims must pursue criminal cases by the age of 50 and must file civil lawsuits by age 30.

The bill, championed by Scarnati, called for the establishment of a tribunal of judges to preside over a compensation fund that would benefit victims who are time-barred from the legal system due to expired statute of limitations.

The plan had the support of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the state's eight Catholic bishops.

Scarnati had argued that the compensation fund would offer genuine relief to victims while sparing them the anguish of going to court. Catholic leaders spoke out in support of the fund. Some Catholic dioceses, including the Diocese of Harrisburg, said a retroactive window for victims to file lawsuits could lead to bankruptcy.

Scarnati had long argued that a retroactive window for victims to file lawsuits would violate the state constitution. The fund would avoid the question of constitutionality, Scarnati has said.

Late Wednesday night, state Rep. Mark Rozzi said the flawed proposal to allow for a retroactive window to sue abusers represents an admission by Scarnati that "retroactive windows are in fact constitutional."

"His opposition to a window is nothing more than an attempt to protect institutions that covered up their role in the sexual abuse of children," said Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat.

Wednesday was the last scheduled day of the legislative session, although lawmakers could at some point add days to the remaining term. They are unlikely to do so before the midterm elections, however, so lawmakers are essentially running out of time to find a compromise on this bill.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, swiftly rejected the plan to shield the church and institutions from lawsuits. If the Senate had passed it, Reed vowed that the bill would not advance in his chamber.

"We will not accept that proposal," said Reed. "We will not accept anything that does not have a clear window to hold not just individuals but the institutions who helped perpetrators commit crimes for decades upon decades."

A long battle continues

Senate Bill 261 was authored in the Senate last year by Scarnati, long before the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury released its findings pointing to widespread and systemic abuse of children by hundreds of priests across six dioceses.

The bill represents the latest effort by lawmakers to reform the statute of limitations.

In 2016, Rozzi, a victim of clergy sex abuse, led similar legislation to give victims the chance to go to court. Rozzi said the move to shield the church and other institutions from lawsuits is unacceptable.

"A window that does not include institutions is not a window at all," Rozzi said.

Once again, Rozzi led efforts to ensure victims were extended a retroactive window. The House last month amended SB261 to reflect that and the bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

The retroactive component has earned the objection of church officials and the insurance industry. Lobbyists for both argue that retroactive lawsuits would bankrupt institutions like the Catholic Church.

Barring an unexpected development, lawmakers aiming to revamp the state's child sex abuse law will have to begin the process again in January.

Several lawmakers vowed they weren't done fighting.

"I'm not going anywhere. If anything, it's going to fire me up a little more if that's possible," Rozzi said.

Staff writer Jan Murphy contributed to this report.