Contact Your State Senator/ Senate Judiciary Committee

The Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse - FACSA
April 15, 2016

http://www.abolishsexabuse.org/

It was a good day last Wednesday when the full PA House passed overwhelmingly HB 1947. While the bill did not include all we had wanted and had worked for, it does:

• Open a window with no end date for many survivors (those under 50 whenever the law is enacted)
• Help expose more predators who have been hiding behind the short time limitations that have been part of PA laws for way too long
• Outs predators on notice that there will be NO time limits when they will feel safe from being identified and prosecuted if they sexually abuse a child.

But for HB 1947 to become law it has two more steps to go through:

1. to be passed by the Senate
2. to be signed by Gov. Wolf.

The House has sent the bill to the Senate, where, once they reconvene after the primary elections on 5/9, it will likely be sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee where its fate is uncertain.

FACSA had a meeting with the committee chair, Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, over a year ago. At that time he was not in support of any legislation that opened a civil window that would allow victims, no matter how long ago the abuse happened, to file a civil suit against the perpetrator, or those who may have covered up the crime. Without support of the chair, this bill could languish in his committee much like it lanquished for almost a decade in the House Judiciary Committee.

Once again, we are asking you and all those you can marshal into action, to do what you can to help move this bill through the state Senate.

• Please contact Sen. Greenleaf and the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to consider and vote out to the full Senate HB 1947 with no changes that would not fully eliminate the criminal statues of limitations nor would add further restrictive limits on when a victim can file a civil suit. Names, phone numbers and email addresses of the committee members are listed below. A new added feature this time is that when you click on the email link, it will open an email window that has the subject and message pre-filled in. You can edit at will. Add your name and address and phone number and anything you want to say. Keep it clear, keep it short, keep it simple.
• Please contact your local Senator and ask them to actively lobby in support of HB 1947 as written to be considered by the full Senate and to support it once it reaches the Senate. Find you local state Senator HERE.
• If you have the time and inclination,  please send an email to each Senator requesting the same. There contact information is listed on our website HERE.