NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau
on October 25, 2012

TRENTON — A bill to greatly expand the statute of limitations for sex abuse lawsuits remained in legislative limbo today after it stalled for a second time on the Senate floor.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), pressed his colleagues until the last minute, but to no avail, in an effort to get the 21 votes needed for passage.

The measure (S1651) would have sharply expanded the statute of limitations from two years to 30 years for suing alleged perpetrators, institutions and their officials ruled culpable for the abuse.

A previous version of the bill, which sought to remove the statute of limitations altogether, began moving through the Legislature in December 2010 but never made it to the floor of the Senate or Assembly after facing stiff opposition from Catholic clergy.

The bill almost made…