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	Church Wins As Abuse Bill Collapses House, Senate Divided over Window for Sex-Abuse Lawsuits By Mark P. Couch Denver Post May 5, 2006 http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3787208 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. By attempting to open a one- year window for past claims, Fitz-Gerald prompted a frenzy of lobbying by the Catholic Church, which insisted that public institutions should be held to the same standards. When the bill was changed to include the possibility of lawsuits against school districts and cities, the stakes were raised and opposition grew stronger. Some insurers told municipal governments they might not be covered for lawsuits based on old claims, Green said. On Thursday, Fitz-Gerald agreed to scale back the bill so that it was closer to the version approved by the House in February by a 49-14 vote. "Politics is never about the perfect, it's about the possible," Fitz-Gerald said. The Senate approved the changes from a conference committee 18-17. The House, however, late Thursday night rejected even Fitz-Gerald's compromise, and voted to only approve the original House version. "Clearly this is a victory for our position," said Tim Dore, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference. The key differences centered on the time limits for filing lawsuits and whether public and private institutions would be subject to the same legal liabilities. It was unlikely the chambers would be able to resolve their differences before the legislative session ends next week. "I think it's a sad day for children in Colorado," said Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "Lawmakers have a chance to protect children, but instead they are buckling under pressure from the Catholic Church to vote against it." Before the House vote, Fitz-Gerald said she was sorely disappointed and issued a warning that the watered-down bill would fail to protect some children. "I think we will live to see why that window should have been lifted," she said. Fitz-Gerald had promoted the window for lawsuits over past abuse cases in response to articles in The Denver Post last year that revealed cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by priests in the Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese. The Senate had also changed House Bill 1090 so that victims in future cases of alleged sexual abuse would have 35 years after they turn 18 to file suit. The original House bill had no deadline for claims in future cases. It also subjected public institutions to the same potential liability. Under the compromise version passed by the Senate Thursday, claims against private institutions could collect as much as $732,500 in damages under state law. Public entities would pay only $150,000. Fitz-Gerald said victims would still be able to sue public entities in federal court under civil rights laws - a legal avenue that would not be available to employees of private institutions. "So we're saying we're going to treat them differently because you can file two lawsuits instead of one?" asked Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma. Fitz-Gerald replied that public entities, such as school districts and cities, are already held to different standards because they must disclose more information to the public. Green vowed that she would pursue similar legislation if the bill does not pass this year. "I will continue to work for this," she said. "This is about protecting children." Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
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