The New York legislature is approaching its final week of the 2017 session. Several issues remain unresolved. One high profile bill would extend the statute of limitations to allow adult victims of molestation to sue for crimes committed against them as children.
Under current law the statute of limitations runs out at age 23. Governor Cuomo has introduced a program bill in the final days of the session. It mirrors a measure passed nearly unanimously in the State Assembly, with only seven dissenting votes. It raises the statute of limitation to age 28 for criminal action, and up to age 50 for civil action. It also includes a one-year window, where survivors of childhood sexual abuse of any age can pursue their cases.
Bridie Farrell, who was molested by her speed skating coach as a teenager, says age 23 is too young for many people to even realize that a crime has been committed against them.
“At 26-years-old, I was taking a course at Cornell University, and it was the first time that I realized I was the victim of a crime. I was 26. So it is impossible to ask people to come forward by age 23.”
Another issue much discussed during the session is the reform of the State’s economic development contracting process after a scandal in the governor’s office. Nine former associates of Cuomo have been charged with crimes ranging from bribery to bid rigging, and trials begin as early as the fall. But so far there’s no sign of an agreement to put the reform measures on the floor of either House for a vote before the session is scheduled to end on June 21.
