NEW JERSEY
Daily Record
Victims' advocates in the gallery of the Statehouse in Trenton had been waiting more than a year for this vote. They applauded when it was over and they had a victory. The state's charitable immunity law appears to be on its way out, at least when it comes to allegations of negligence in child sexual abuse cases.
Some lobbyists were saying this could bankrupt the Catholic Church and other charities. The bill's sponsors were pointing out that New Jersey is just one of three states that still have a charitable immunity law. They were saying charities somehow exist in the other 47 states. They were saying their bill asked for a small exception to the state's law protecting charities.
It does not open up charities to lawsuits by people falling on ice, for example. This is about allowing civil suits involving the most serious of crimes.
So why all the fuss?
The bill's sponsors, state Sen. Joseph Vitale and Assemblyman Neil Cohen, were saying that lobbying against their proposal was going on Monday, as the Assembly prepared to vote more than a year after the state Senate passed a similar bill. They were saying church officials had been making calls for weeks, that parish priests had been talking to parishioners who were Assembly members. Then there was a late e-mail from the state Bar Association to all members of the Assembly.