DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Mark P. Couch
Denver Post Staff Writer
The Roman Catholic Church scored a major legislative victory Thursday when Colorado lawmakers scrapped a proposal to let past victims of childhood sexual abuse file lawsuits against the employers of their abusers.
And a growing divide between the House and Senate threatened to kill all attempts to give victims more time to file lawsuits.
The legislation collapsed after Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, sponsor of House Bill 1090, concluded she didn't have enough Republican votes to pass the bill as it was amended by the Senate.
Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Jefferson County, had added a provision to temporarily lift the statute of limitations to allow lawsuits over alleged assaults dating to 1971. Current law gives victims two years after they turn 18 to make a claim.