HOYLMAN FORCES COMMITTEE VOTE ON CHILD VICTIMS ACTS

Hoylman: New York State’s statutes of limitations not only prevent survivors from seeking justice, but allow abusers to remain at-large and in contact with kids. Each year we fail to act more innocent children fall prey to their heinous crimes.”

ALBANY – State Senator Brad Hoylman (D, WF-Manhattan) announced today that he will file a Motion for Committee Consideration on his legislation to provide justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The Motion is a parliamentary maneuver that forces the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Republicans, to allow an up or down vote on the legislation.

Senator Hoylman’s bill, the Child Victims Act, which he co-sponsors with Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, would lift New York’s civil and criminal statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes and create a one-year look-back period to allow survivors the opportunity to file claims against their abusers. Currently, New York’s statutes of limitations give survivors only until the age of 23 to file criminal charges or initiate a civil lawsuit, an insufficient amount of time for many survives who often take decades to come to terms with their trauma.

State Senator Brad Hoylman said: “New York State’s statutes of limitations not only prevent survivors from seeking justice, but allow abusers to remain at-large and in contact with kids. Each year we fail to act more innocent children fall prey to their heinous crimes. With Governor Cuomo's strong support, the time is right for the State Senate to bring justice to survivors of abuse by passing the Child Victims Act this session.”

Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “It is deeply disappointing that we must use parliamentary tools to force the Senate Republican-IDC Coalition to allow the Child Victims Act to be discussed in committee. I commend Senator Brad Hoylman for leading the charge on this issue and for demanding action on the Child Victims Act. The time has come to pass this legislation and provide help for the victims of this terrible crime and I urge the Senate Republican-IDC Coalition to support this good bill.”

As a result of Republican opposition, a hostile amendment introduced during the last session fell short by just one vote, despite unanimous support from Democrats. In January, the Governor declared his support for lifting New York’s statues of limitations, including an outline for reform in his 2017 policy agenda. Moreover, in October, the Archdiocese of New York announced the creation of a compensation fund for individuals who were sexually abused. Survivors receiving compensation are required to execute a full release of liability and waive their right to sue any party relating to incidents of sexual abuse.