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	Sponsor of Child Abuse Bill Hopes for Summer Hearing By Peter Smith The Courier-Journal [Louisville KY] March 14, 2007 http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070314/NEWS0101/703141396/1008/NEWS01 A bill supported by advocates for people abused by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville failed to get a public hearing this legislative session, but its sponsor hopes for one this summer. Some types of abuse of older children and failing to report abuse, which are misdemeanors, would have become felonies under House Bill 548. That means all statutes of limitations would have been removed, allowing for prosecutions decades after the alleged crimes. "It was just so wild the last few days" of the session, said Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, who filed the bill. She hadn't expected passage during the short session, but she did hope at least for a hearing. Now she's shifting that hope to when the House Judiciary Committee holds one of its interim meetings between now and the next session in 2008. "Hopefully in the summer," she said. The bill also would have toughened penalties for those who sexually abuse children and those who know about such abuse and fail to report it to authorities. "Of course, we are disappointed that it didn't get a hearing," said Vince Grenough of Voice of the Faithful, an advocacy group for victims of abuse. "But we are very glad that it's in the list of bills to be considered the next time around," he added. Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469 or psmith@courier-journal.com.
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