Botched handling of ballot question is a ‘kick in the teeth’ to survivors of abuse

PENNSYLVANIA
Crossville Chronicle

February 1, 2021

By John Finnerty

https://www.crossville-chronicle.com/news/tennessee_news/botched-handling-of-ballot-question-is-a-kick-in-the-teeth-to-survivors-of-abuse/article_533a689f-a34f-5ddc-8c5d-4977e523a15d.html

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is resigning after administration officials acknowledged Monday that the department had failed to advertise a proposed change to the state Constitution to allow adult survivors of childhood sex abuse to sue the Catholic Church and other organizations that covered up for predators.

Because of the error, the proposed amendment can’t be on the ballot until 2023 due to a requirement that the measure be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions. Failing to properly advertise the proposed change when it first passed the General Assembly in 2019 means that the process must start over at the beginning, the Department of State said in a statement.

Boockvar’s resignation is effective Friday.

Gov. Tom Wolf apologized for the Department of State’s bungling and confirmed that Boockvar’s departure was based on the botched handling of the statute of limitations amendment.

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.

Botched handling of ballot question is a ‘kick in the teeth’ to survivors of abuse

PENNSYLVANIA
Crossville Chronicle

February 1, 2021

By John Finnerty

https://www.crossville-chronicle.com/news/tennessee_news/botched-handling-of-ballot-question-is-a-kick-in-the-teeth-to-survivors-of-abuse/article_533a689f-a34f-5ddc-8c5d-4977e523a15d.html

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is resigning after administration officials acknowledged Monday that the department had failed to advertise a proposed change to the state Constitution to allow adult survivors of childhood sex abuse to sue the Catholic Church and other organizations that covered up for predators.

Because of the error, the proposed amendment can’t be on the ballot until 2023 due to a requirement that the measure be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions. Failing to properly advertise the proposed change when it first passed the General Assembly in 2019 means that the process must start over at the beginning, the Department of State said in a statement.

Boockvar’s resignation is effective Friday.

Gov. Tom Wolf apologized for the Department of State’s bungling and confirmed that Boockvar’s departure was based on the botched handling of the statute of limitations amendment.

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.