Murphy says he’ll act soon on bill to give sexual-assault victims more time to sue abusers

NEWARK (NJ)
Star Ledger

May 2, 2019

By Matt Arco

Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday night he plans to act soon on a bill that would give victims of sexual assault in New Jersey significantly more time to file lawsuits against their abusers.

Speaking about the legislation, which stalled in the state Legislature for decades and was fiercely opposed by the Catholic Church, Murphy said “it’s past due that we honor” people who are victims of abuse.

“While I don’t have a specific day for you, this is coming to a head literally over the next week or two,” Murphy said in response to a listener’s question on WNYC’s “Ask the Governor” program.

“The victims deserve their day,” he said. “This has been a long time coming.”

But the governor did not specifically say whether he would sign it into law as is or change some of the language in the legislation with a conditional veto, which would then send it back to the Legislature.

Murphy’s response came as proponents of the measure have stepped up calls for Murphy to act.

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