Editorial: A third path to let abuse victims seek justice

Pennsylvania has been increasingly involved in the ugly issue of child sex abuse since the 2011 charges against retired Penn State football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky were unveiled. That prompted a number of reforms to the way reports were handled and clearances were issued.

Multiple rounds of grand jury cases exposed long histories of abuse that were obscured within the Catholic Church — most recently in the 2018 grand jury report that detailed 70 years of cases in multiple dioceses with more than 1,000 victims.

The reform people wanted with this was an opportunity for lawsuits to still be filed for now-adult victims whose childhood assaults came to light after the traditional statute of limitations.

It took two years for the Legislature to work through this, pushing all the way to a constitutional amendment that would go before the people for a vote. And then earlier this year, Pennsylvania’s Department of State dropped the ball, not taking the administrative steps it needed to get the question on the May ballot. The whole process needs to be restarted.

That left the Legislature with options. Do they avail themselves of an emergency loophole and just change the constitution without the people’s participation? Do they go back to the drawing board and leave the victims to suffer for another two years of debate and divide?

According to Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, the Wolf administration’s error “does not meet the emergency status criteria,” and Pennsylvanians still have a right to decide a constitutional question.

While sex abuse victims might debate her idea of what is or isn’t an emergency, it is undeniable that the people should get to vote on change to their fundamental governing document. But more months of debate, starting the process from scratch, doesn’t seem in anyone’s best interest.

Lawmakers have it in their power to take a third path. Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, said he was hopeful lawmakers also will pass the window as regular legislation, as a state law would take effect more quickly than the slower amendment.

The House of Representatives has pushed forward in just a month, approving the amendment proposal anew by a vote of 188 to 13 — support that goes well beyond party lines.

For the amendment process, this has to happen in the Senate, too. And then next year it has to happen in both chambers again. And then it can go to the people in 2022 if it happens in a timely fashion, possibly becoming law in 2023.

This is a heartbreaking failure that lies at the feet of the Wolf administration. But by not taking the third option available — simply enacting a law, in the way the Legislature does every day — a tragic incompetence by one branch is being compounded by another.

The people can have their say in the passing of a law. They do it all the time. People weigh in, contact their legislators, picket or protest or poll on new laws constantly. That process, which relies on representative government, is built on the people’s voices.

To not recognize that seems to value placing blame over solving a problem.