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Pennsylvania Commonwealth Secretary Kathy Boockvar (D) said she would step down at the end of the week after her office failed to properly announce a proposed constitutional amendment to widen the window for civil suits for alleged children victims of sexual abuse.
The amendment would have given plaintiffs two years to file civil suits, according to the Wall Street Journal. State law requires that proposed amendments be first passed by the state legislature in consecutive sessions before being submitted directly to voters for a vote.
The Department of State is required by law to run newspaper advertisements describing the proposed changes.
While lawmakers first passed the measure in 2019 and were set to pass it again in 2020, the State Department has not released the announcements, according to the newspaper. This means the amendment process must start from the beginning, unless lawmakers pass a bill creating the same two-year opening.
“The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of childhood sexual assault survivors, lawyers and lawmakers, and I join the State Department in apologizing. I share your anger and frustration at this, and I stand by your side in your fight for justice, ”Gov. Tom wolf
Tom WolfPennsylvania Lieutenant Governor For Defying Weed Ban, LGBTQ Rights Reports Republicans Plan To Revise Vote After Biden Victory (D), who announced Boockvar’s resignation, said in a statement.
The ministry also apologized on Monday for the oversight, calling it the result of “simple human error” in a statement. Boockvar was appointed by Wolf in January 2019 after previously serving as Wolf’s senior advisor on modernizing electoral procedures.
Other states, including New York, have similar laws in the books, which have sparked a series of lawsuits against institutions such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church.
State Representative Mark Rozzi (R), a supporter of the measure who himself alleged sexual abuse by a priest as a teenager, said there was still a chance the proposal would make the primary ballot of May. “I’m just shocked that this has happened, but we have persevered for all these years and will continue to do so. I will not give up the fight until this is done, period, ”he told the WSJ.
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