DENVER (CO)
Rocky Mountain News
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
May 5, 2006
The House resoundingly rejected a compromise late Thursday on a controversial child sex abuse bill that leaves the fate of the measure in doubt.
Lawmakers earlier Thursday ripped out the most contentious feature of the child sex abuse bill - a one-year window that would have allowed alleged victims to sue for incidents stretching back to 1971.
Under the revised bill, a childhood sex abuse victim would have had until age 53 to sue, almost 30 years longer than current law allows. The Senate passed the revised bill 18-17.
But as the clock neared 11 p.m., House members trampled the compromise bid on a 63-2 vote. It then voted to "adhere to the House position" - a move that keeps the House's original version of the bill alive although its political prospects were uncertain late Thursday.