CALIFORNIA
Catholic San Francisco
September 11th, 2013
By Valerie Schmalz
Opponents are mobilizing to convince Gov. Jerry Brown to veto sexual abuse damages legislation that they say is discriminatory and imperils non profits, Catholic social services, private and parochial schools and poor parishes.
The Senate approved Senate Bill 131 21-8 with 10 no votes on Sept. 6. The Assembly passed it Sept. 4 by a vote of 44-15 with 19 abstentions.
The bill would open non profits and religious institutions to civil liability for alleged sexual abuse that occurred before Jan. 1, 2004, but for which victims only discovered injury after that date.
However, those abused in public schools or by someone in a government agency would not be able to sue for damages under the legislation, opponents said. The abusers themselves would also be exempt from civil suit during the one-year waiver of the statute of limitations which would begin Jan. 1, 2014.
In addition to the Catholic organizations, non-profits as diverse as the YMCA, Little League, Boy Scouts and private schools could face additional abuse claims.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.