NEW YORK
Forward
Sam Kestenbaum
Jun 1, 2016
The clock is ticking toward midnight, and dimming hopes now seem to rest with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a bill that would enable thousands of child sex abuse victims to seek justice from their abusers.
Victim advocates had considered twin bills introduced this year to be their best chance yet to extend the statute of limitation for pursuing sexual predators of children criminally and civilly. But state Senate Republicans have made clear they will, as in the past, block efforts to reform New York’s statute of limitation for such crimes, which is among the shortest in the country.
Now, with the June 16 deadline for adjournment of the legislature only two weeks away, supporters of the measure are urging Cuomo to force the matter by introducing a separate bill of his own.
“The governor always has the opportunity to introduce what is called a program bill,” said Mike Armstrong, chief press officer for Assembly Member Margaret Markey, the bills’ prime sponsor in the lower house, where it has strong support. Such a bill, fashioned by the state’s chief executive, “puts the muscle of the administration behind the issue,” Armstrong said.
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