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House committee advances bill to remove civil time limits for childhood sexual abuse
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 73, the "Survivors Justice Act," which would repeal the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault, after survivors and advocates described long delays in disclosure and gaps in current law.
Representative Anaya introduced House Bill 73, the “Survivors Justice Act,” to the House Judiciary Committee as a measure to repeal the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault and allow survivors to sue when they are ready.
The bill’s proponents said the change would not affect criminal statutes or the Tort Claims Act and would not apply to suits against governmental entities. “This is not on the criminal side. It is only dealing with the civil statute of limitations,” attorney Teresa Hasssey told the committee. Alexandria Taylor, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, said her network serves more than 8,000 survivors a year and supports the bill.
Survivors who testified detailed long delays in disclosure and the limits that the current law imposes. Lex Garcia, who identified herself as “a survivor of child sexual abuse,” said her abuser is still in education and that reporting to police and the school district had not removed him from schools. “It took 15 years for me to admit to myself that I had endured sexual exploitation,” Garcia said. She added that the current law required a report within one year of turning 18 for abuse by a public employee, a period she said is often too short for survivors to process trauma and come forward.
Witnesses and the bill’s supporters told the committee lawmakers from both parties and multiple survivors had urged the change. Attorneys testifying said repeal on the civil side would not change the burden of proof for claims; defendants would still be able to raise statute-of-limitations defenses if the law allowed them. The committee discussed concerns raised in fiscal and agency reviews but the sponsor reiterated the bill does not waive sovereign immunity or create new criminal exposure for public entities.
The committee moved a motion for a “do pass” recommendation and registered no objections on the record; the committee chair announced the bill passed out of committee by unanimous consent.
