SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0California lawmakers said Thursday that they plan to make \u201cmodest\u201d changes to a controversial law that gave victims of childhood sexual abuse a new window in which to sue, but will stop short of a damage cap.<\/p>\n
The proposed legislation, offered in the final days of the legislative session, would require older victims to provide additional proof that they were abused as children, but does not limit the amount they could receive in payouts \u2014 a demand made by local governments and school districts that have shelled out billions of dollars in recent settlements.<\/p>\n
The proposal follows years of heated debate over a 2019 state law that removed the statue of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims. The law paved the way for thousands of victims to sue their abusers but has been criticized for draining the coffers of local governments.<\/p>\n
Since the law was enacted, L.A. County has agreed to pay more than $5 billion to settle more than 12,000 claims stemming from alleged sexual abuse committed by government employees in foster homes and juvenile halls. <\/p>\n
Santa Monica last year declared a financial crisis<\/a> after officials revealed that the city faces more than $229 million in sexual abuse allegation claims from a former city employee. California school districts<\/a> have paid nearly a half-billion dollars to settle older claims of sexual abuse.<\/p>\n The new bill, known as Senate Bill 577, tweaks a proposal put forward last year by Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), who tried unsuccessfully to shepherd through a compromise between local government entities, survivors groups and plaintiffs attorneys.<\/p>\n Laird and Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in interviews Thursday that they tried to thread the needle in protecting both survivors and municipalities.<\/p>\n Laird said he\u2019s heard reaction from various groups since the new bill proposal was posted online. The groups are \u201cnot totally happy,\u201d Laird said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal here was to get a situation where [the reaction] was sullen but not mutinous,\u201d said Umberg. <\/p>\n L.A. County, which faces more than 5,000 new claims of sexual abuse, lobbied hard to change the law<\/a>, arguing it opened the door for fraud as records to vet the cases were long gone. Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Nicchitta praised the bill Thursday as a \u201cthoughtful and balanced package of reforms.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a responsible step forward and moves us toward a more stable and sustainable framework, and we urge all public entities seeking reform to accept this solution now,\u201d Nicchitta said in a statement. <\/p>\n The Consumer Attorneys of California, a trial lawyer trade group, backed the fact that the bill wouldn\u2019t limit how much victims could receive from these cases.<\/p>\n \u201cDamage caps would place an arbitrary limit on the harm a survivor has suffered and leave survivors bearing more of the lifelong costs of abuse\u2014including trauma, disability, and treatment,\u201d said Doug Saeltzer, president of the association. \u201cThose costs should not be shifted onto the very people the system failed to protect.\u201d<\/p>\n