Schools and local governments facing crippling damages from lawsuits over child sex abuse would gain some relief under a measure the California Legislature passed Sunday, although not nearly as much as they hoped.<\/p>\n
The legislation, Senate Bill 577<\/a> by Sen. John Laird, was the product of two years of negotiations and allows many survivors of childhood sexual assault at public institutions to continue to sue the public bodies they say are responsible for their trauma. Laird\u2019s Senate district includes Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties.<\/p>\n Shortly after the Assembly approved the measure 46 to 19, the Senate voted 24 to 10 to send the bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom. The governor has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto bills.<\/p>\n The measure did not include any caps on damages, which schools wanted but survivor groups argued were akin to putting a price tag on someone\u2019s assault. Local governments and school districts were adamant that limits, while politically unappealing, were the only solution to substantially improve their financial health.<\/p>\n But in a win for the public entities, the legislation requires older survivors to present stronger, \u201cclear and convincing\u201d evidence of their assaults, and show that the entity had \u201cactual knowledge\u201d of the abuse. The new requirements apply to survivors over age 40 and those with cases prior to 2024 \u2014 when lawmakers abolished the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases \u2014 in which records were destroyed.<\/p>\n The bill also lays out a host of preventive measures to curb child sex abuse in public institutions.<\/p>\n Counties, cities and school districts would be required to develop and submit codes of conduct and sexual assault prevention plans to the California attorney general\u2019s office by Jan. 1, 2028 and that office would brief the Legislature on which agencies fail to comply.<\/p>\n There are also provisions to crack down on fraudulent claims. Attorneys who are found to have brought a child sexual abuse claim \u201cin bad faith\u201d would be subject to a $25,000 fine.<\/p>\n Laird before the vote said the bill was a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an indicator that we have strived to maintain balance,\u201d Laird said in a floor speech.<\/p>\n Chantel Johnson, a spokesperson for the Youth Law Center, which represents survivors, said in a statement that the final legislation was \u201ca hard-won compromise\u201d that balances fiscal concerns and the rights of survivors. It was \u201cnot the bill the Youth Law Center would have written,\u201d Johnson said, but they applauded lawmakers for rejecting caps on damages and also for including robust protections and prevention measures.<\/p>\n Opponents of the bill \u2014 Republicans and Democrats \u2014 raised concerns about the higher evidentiary standard, which will make it much more difficult for survivors over the age of 40 to seek justice. Law enforcement agencies also raised concerns about a section of the bill that changes access to law enforcement\u2019s personnel records.<\/p>\n