[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6251548,"mediaKeyId","3194983-ff835e3c44f458dbe591a4e5a4022865","parentId",3194983,"title","House Judiciary Committee hears competing views on two‑year 'reviver' window and related constitutional amendment","audioSeconds",3479,"startMs",216000,"endMs",3695000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3194983-ff835e3c44f458dbe591a4e5a4022865&start=216&end=3695","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3194983-ff835e3c44f458dbe591a4e5a4022865/thumbnail_216000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6251548/Pennsylvania/House-Judiciary-Committee-hears-competing-views-on-twoyear-reviver-window-and-related-constitutional-amendment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6251548-f501b8b5015d42a4d19d5d4aaacfd4ce/orig.mp4?Expires=1770978568&Signature=DXDFs2CzNc5BCO3P~M6pUwTlDM2FpM1JM27Ifkqp3yGW~mlywHM7I3sd0mvOIJTSVSwY4RVFoAle5rFyAYVoiZ6Mfbq-v~DqIZQnvTPejX1jqSMz8GEBYTHU041~4NTqQx0UcV8sQepXFBVGKO0e~BxY~6vIbzoZPsKNW3vUDI7lthrAssEkg0vX50KILBX5fl-~q~0Y9J8K7MbsdCLBWeClNIpK3sZmRF9dHPRkJJIF9B5SqcBuFXJ7ocpSoWwxDsjVo6TXIhKor2ZWOPbN-pGjnBe0BUocPy8G~dwqda3OKGRYReFJ6seKE5CslmqKJ~Mae8uRNsjO88NuK2Ulqw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Pennsylvania House of Representatives","date","2025-05-06T06:33:56.97Z","article","The House Judiciary Committee heard detailed testimony in Harrisburg on proposed legislation and a constitutional amendment that would open a two‑year window for survivors to file civil claims for childhood sexual abuse and would waive sovereign immunity in some cases.

Committee Chair Chairman Kauffman presided over the hearing and Representative Davidson, the bill’s prime sponsor, said he would reserve most remarks for the committee’s upcoming voting meeting and that the day’s purpose was to hear survivors and experts.

Supporters told the committee the measure would let people whose claims are now time‑barred come to court and hold institutions accountable. Lara St. John, a professional violinist who said she was abused while a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, described reporting efforts to school officials that she said were ignored and said a civil remedy is necessary to obtain “true justice in court.” Professor Marcy Hamilton, founder and CEO of Child USA, said a window is a modest, incremental reform that allows past victims a remedy while the state continues prevention work and extended prospective statutes of limitation. “What window legislation does is provide a solution for the ones from the past,” Hamilton told the committee.

Opponents focused on constitutional and practical objections. Carrie Silverman, counsel for the American Tort Reform Association (ATTRA), testified the proposal raises serious constitutional issues because it would retroactively remove vested rights and revive time‑barred negligence claims. Silverman cited Pennsylvania case law and named Lewis v. Pennsylvania Railroad Company and a 2008 Condaras decision as on‑point precedents, saying Pennsylvania courts have long treated the running of a statute of limitations as yielding vested expectations for both plaintiffs and defendants. Silverman warned that reviver windows in other states produced a large volume of claims and fiscal strain, citing Maryland’s experience—“about 4,000 lawsuits” within a year of a reviver—along with published budget estimates of multi‑billion dollar impacts.

Committee members questioned witnesses on legal precedent and the practical effects of revival. Representative Bonner asked Silverman for cases that support the constitutional position; Silverman pointed to Lewis and Condaras. Representative Klunk, who chairs the House Children and Youth Committee, emphasized concerns raised by child services providers about rising liability insurance costs and said she had worked on related liability and cap legislation.

Hamilton and St. John urged lawmakers to balance concerns about institutions and insurers with survivors’ delayed disclosure and lifelong harms. Hamilton said Pennsylvania has extended prospective statutes of limitation to age 55 for current victims but argued that a reviver window addresses victims from the distant past who cannot otherwise access the courts. She also disputed the claim that revivers are uniformly unconstitutional, saying no state court has held that a window is categorically invalid under its remedies clause.

The hearing combined survivor testimony, legal analysis, and policy forecasting. Witnesses on both sides referenced out‑of‑state experiences and court rulings to support their positions.

Committee Chair Kauffman closed by noting the required hearing had been completed and reminded members that a voting meeting to consider both the statute (House Bill 462) and the constitutional amendment (House Bill 464) is scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow in 660 East Wing.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Judiciary Committee -- May 5, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony in Harrisburg on proposed legislation and a constitutional amendment to open a two‑year window allowing survivors of childhood sexual abuse to revive civil claims and, in some cases, waive sovereign immunity.","taxTitle","Judiciary, House of Representatives, Legislative, Pennsylvania","taxId",29244,"location","Pennsylvania","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6251543,"Judiciary committee advances treatment‑court name change, reentry program, 'Alicia's Law' and other measures; sentence‑credit bill passes narrowly",1150,4229000,5379000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3194983-ff835e3c44f458dbe591a4e5a4022865&start=4229&end=5379","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3194983-ff835e3c44f458dbe591a4e5a4022865/thumbnail_4229000.jpg","/articles/6251543/Pennsylvania/Judiciary-committee-advances-treatmentcourt-name-change-reentry-program-Alicias-Law-and-other-measures-sentencecredit-bill-passes-narrowly","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6251543-252762136c2d029588eb4525af60a69b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770978568&Signature=T6nut16fOUBPg3Ye6m5bqsWAYCmGhZFIvxfqYrAA--oD4LkeMk50DMElB2J5dw8mZqQ5iKzsKUWfpTilHMEb7VRstczTY-oMwrOntYFHcVUvwrsrhz-2LnThCJjatE8xubdeuff7OItMDoVf3BpHSno-cHNxEY~qsJrIIpSRurXnIVmbSzhTbC~IRrEXovSxyo2U4xeVOC23nH5BIsOgI0pg5A7-OzuMGfWANxUvabgfs5sap7naMZPyOgUw6VO-ER1d27Jdfz3ABKiQylMyRjSLL6aAveJDFdHfP-ElFHMl6i4aw566P8DJdil5kwzqGSuFvRUW6w7cJQx7fTKHIQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Judiciary Committee voted to advance several bills and a resolution during a voting meeting following a required morning hearing.

Senate Bill 475, sponsored remotely by Senator Capuleti, would rename “problem solving courts” as “treatment courts” throughout Title 42 and authorize the Supreme Court to support local treatment courts with funding and technical assistance. Senator Capuleti said the change better reflects the rehabilitative mission of specialty courts. Counsel said the bill takes effect in 90 days. The committee recorded no negative votes and sent the bill to the House floor as committed.

House Bill 282, described by counsel as an amendment to the Human Services Code, authorizes the Department of Human Services to establish a medical‑assistance reentry program that provides substance use disorder treatment and case management services to eligible incarcerated individuals and initially included a requirement for a 30‑day medication supply on release. The committee adopted amendment AA0347, which deleted the 30‑day supply language because the Medical Assistance program already allows up to a 90‑day supply and removed limiting language about county opt‑in. The bill passed the committee 25‑1.

House Bill 1042, a proposal to allow incarcerated individuals to earn sentence reductions for completing specified education and vocational programming, passed the committee by a roll call vote of 14‑12. Counsel described the credit amounts: up to 90 days for vocational programs, up to 120 days for obtaining a GED, up to 90 days for completing higher education courses, and up to 180 days for attaining a college degree; credits cannot exceed one‑quarter of an inmate’s minimum sentence and do not apply when an inmate has less than four months to serve. Chairman Kaufman announced he would oppose the bill because he believes the bill’s list of excluded offenses omits several serious crimes (he cited corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and sexual exploitation of children as examples). The chair said he is open to stakeholder conversations before floor action.

House Bill 1098, “Alicia’s Law,” sponsored by Representatives Ortizhai and Benham (as presented), establishes a grant program within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to fund law‑enforcement units that investigate internet crimes against children. The committee adopted amendment A409 to clarify eligible uses, including grants to fight child sexual exploitation, unlawful contact, child pornography, and human trafficking. The bill passed unanimously as amended.

House Resolution 214, recognizing May 2025 as National Treatment Court Month in Pennsylvania, passed unanimously.

Committee leadership said the committee will meet again to consider HB462 (the reviver statute) and HB464 (constitutional amendment) at 10 a.m. the next day.

","The House Judiciary Committee at a voting meeting moved multiple bills to the floor: Senate Bill 475 to rename problem‑solving courts as treatment courts passed unanimously; a reentry‑under‑MA program (House Bill 282) passed 25‑1 after a technical amendment; HB1042 on earned sentence credits passed 14‑12 amid objections about missing offense","actionData","errors"]

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House Judiciary Committee hears competing views on two‑year 'reviver' window and related constitutional amendment

Judiciary committee advances treatment‑court name change, reentry program, 'Alicia's Law' and other measures; sentence‑credit bill passes narrowly