Pennsylvania Commonwealth Secretary Kathy Boockvar (D) said she will step down later this week after her office did not properly announce a proposed constitutional amendment to widen the civil lawsuit window for alleged victims of ‘child sexual abuse.
The amendment would have given the plaintiffs two years to file civil lawsuits, according to the Wall Street Journal. State law requires proposed amendments to first pass the state legislature for consecutive sessions before they are presented directly to voters as a voting initiative.
The law requires the State Department to publish newspaper ads explaining the proposed amendments.
Although lawmakers first approved the measure in 2019 and were willing to approve it again in 2020, the state department was unable to publish the announcements, according to the newspaper. This means that the amendment process must begin from the beginning, unless lawmakers pass a bill to create the same two-year opening.
“The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of child sexual assault, advocates and lawmakers, and I join the State Department in apologizing. I share your anger and frustration at the fact that this pass, and I am with you in your struggle for justice, “the governor said. Tom Wolf
Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania lieutenant governor to challenge weed ban, LGBTQ rights flags Republicans plan to revise after Biden victory Scars of Capitol attack permeates high security inauguration MORE (D), who announced Boockvar’s resignation, said in a statement.
The department on Monday also apologized for the oversight, calling it the result of a “simple human error” in a statement. Boockvar was appointed by Wolf in January 2019 after having previously been Wolf’s senior adviser on modernizing electoral procedures.
Other states, including New York, have similar laws on 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 (D), an advocate of the measure who allegedly sexually abused a priest when he was a teenager, said there is still a chance the proposal could vote in the May primary election. “I am surprised that this has happened, but we have persevered for all these years and we will continue to do so. I will not give up the fight until this is over, period, ”he told the WSJ.