PROVIDENCE (RI)
Rhode Island Current [Rhode Island]
June 1, 2026
By Christopher Shea
If legislation sponsored passes committee Wednesday, it will go to the full chamber the same day.
After years of stalling at the committee level, the Rhode Island Senate is poised to take up legislation to revive previously expired civil claims of sexual abuse against institutions such as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.
An amended version of the bill sponsored by Sen. Mark McKenney, a Warwick Democrat, will be voted on by the chamber’s Committee on Judiciary when it meets Wednesday.
If approved by the panel, the bill will go to the full Senate chamber the same day.
“Today we are taking an important step toward providing survivors of child sexual abuse with meaningful access to the courts,” Sen. Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Judiciary, told reporters at a press conference late Monday afternoon. “After months of testimony, legal analysis, constitutional review, and public participation I believe we have found that path — a path that is fair to survivors, faithful to our constitution, and respectful of due process.”
The bill would create a “revival window” allowing previously expired claims against institutions and supervisors accused of failing to protect children from sexual abuse. If approved by lawmakers, the window would open on July 1, 2026, and close on June 30, 2028.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha recommended the measure in his 282-page report released March 4 detailing decades of abuse by clergy covered up by the Diocese of Providence.
On April 7, the House voted 68 to 5 in favor of companion legislation that McKenney’s bill initially matched.
McKenney’s bill has undergone four changes. First it now preserves prior court judgments. The original language would have allowed people whose child sexual abuse lawsuits were dismissed because the legal filing deadline had expired to bring their cases again.
Secondly, the Senate’s legislation also clarifies that state and local governments are not subject to prejudgment interest, consistent with existing law.
A third change reaffirms the existing $100,000 limit on the state’s liability in civil lawsuits.
The final update would calculate prejudgment interest in revived claims similar to method used in for medical malpractice claims by applying it from the date a claim is filed or formally noticed.
Changes were made to address questions surrounding the constitutionality of retroactive liability. Before the compromise was announced Monday, the Senate was considering a resolution asking the Rhode Island Supreme Court to weigh in before any formal action was taken.
LaMountain previously said an advisory opinion from the state’s high court was the quickest way to test the bill’s constitutionality following “conflicting opinions” during the bill’s initial hearing on April 30. But during the resolution’s initial hearing, Neronha and retired federal Judge William E. Smith argued that the legislature should set policy and urged the committee to pass the bill without waiting for advice from the court. Neronha said his office was qualified to make the call on whether the bill would pass constitutional muster. Smith suggested that the court would refuse to grant an opinion in time before the end of the legislative session
Neronha told reporters Monday he believed the Senate’s changes to the legislation were reasonable and still maintains its core of providing victims with an opportunity for justice.
“I think this struck the right balance,” he said. “The adjustments and compromise that has been reached is a fair one.”
McKenney thanked the Senate’s leadership for agreeing to bring his legislation to the floor.
“I’m very glad we continued working on this so we could arrive at this resolution,” he told reporters.
Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat who sponsored the House version of the bill, told Rhode Island Current she was alerted to the Senate’s changes at 10:30 a.m. Monday. While she’s only taken an initial look, she saw no issues with the amendments
“I appreciate that they did this — honestly,” she said in an interview. “I don’t want to have to come in and do this again next year.”
Dr. Hub Brennan, an outspoken clergy abuse victim who is now an internist with a private practice in East Greenwich, told reporters he too was grateful to see the legislation finally move forward in the Senate.
“Finally … accountability,” he said in a statement. “And hopefully a deterrent that will meaningfully protect our children.”