Despite fierce opposition from the Catholic Church, state legislators passed a bill today giving victims of sexual assault in New Jersey significantly more time to file lawsuits against their abusers.

Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to sign the bill, which had been stalled in the state Legislature for more than two decades.

The state Assembly voted 71-0 with five abstentions Monday to approve the measure (S477), which would vastly expand the current two-year statute of limitations for such civil suits to seven years in most cases.

The bill would allow adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring a civil suit against an individual or institution, including non-profits, up until the age of 55 or seven years after they make “the discovery" connecting their emotional and psychological injury to their abuse.

It was approved almost unanimously by the state Senate earlier this month. Murphy, a Democrat, expressed support for reforms Monday but did not say whether he would sign the bill as passed.

“Childhood trauma often carries into adulthood," the bill’s state Assembly sponsors, Annette Quijano, D-Union, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Bergen, and Miley Jasey, D-Essex, said in a joint statement.

“Many survivors need the time to find the strength to confront their abusers and get the justice they need and deserve. We must recognize the incredible stress, turmoil and pressure victims feel when dealing with their abuse and adjust the law accordingly to allow enough time for them to begin to heal.”

Efforts to expand New Jersey’s statute of limitations for rape lawsuits have been ongoing since the late 1990s, but advocates say the Catholic Church’s influence in Trenton kept the movement from picking up steam.

But the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report last year identifying 300 clergy members credibly accused of sexual assault — including four who lived or served in New Jersey — reinvigorated the push to change New Jersey’s laws. A separate grand jury investigation launched by New Jersey’s attorney general, which is ongoing, also gave the effort renewed urgency.

Under the proposed changes, victims who were previously barred from bringing a lawsuit because they had run out of time under the existing law would get an additional two-year window in which to pursue their case.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.

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