PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle
By Liam Migdail-Smith
HARRISBURG
The state Senate approved a bill to overhaul Pennsylvania’s child sex abuse laws Thursday, but the legislation lacks the key provision that victims and their advocates had demanded.
The bill did not include language that would allow victims to pursue claims for abuse that occurred decades ago. A bid to restore that retroactive provision to the bill fell short again Thursday.
Senators voted 49-0 Thursday to send the bill back to the state House with changes made Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate panel axed a provision that would have allowed victims up to age 50 to sue regardless of when the abuse occurred.
State Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican, unsuccessfully attempted to restore that portion of the bill.
Many supporters of the bill say the legislation has been reduced to a half-measure that fails to provide overdue justice to victims already harmed.
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