SB 1, the statute of limitations constitutional amendment that would allow a two-year window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice in court, is just two votes away from being placed before the voters.
Alternatively, HB 2, languishing in Sen. Lisa Baker’s Judiciary Committee since March 2023 (this is peculiar given Baker’s active and timely support of HB 14 in the previous session) would also establish a two-year window, but by statute. It is just two votes away from being sent to the governor’s desk.
Both bills, while enjoying sizable bipartisan legislative and public support, are being blocked by President Pro Tempore Kim Ward to the detriment of her reputation as the top Republican in the state. For far too long, Ward and her predecessors have employed this tactic, insulating themselves and their cohort from votes that may prove unpopular with the public (or with special interests). This is not how democracy is supposed to work, and this is not the way a leader should wield power.
To be sure, addressing the crime of child sexual abuse is complex, exhausting, disquieting and potentially costly; it also is a necessary moral reckoning that will benefit past victims, even as it illuminates current shortcomings in our laws and regulations designed to protect vulnerable citizens. The public deserves a formal response from legislators, not more avoidance of the issue.
Ward must allow consideration of SB1 and HB2. To do otherwise is to acknowledge that she is unsuited for her office.
Susan Fudurich
Monessen
