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HARRISBURG â âInternal systemic failuresâ were behind the Wolf administrationâs bungling of a statewide referendum that would provide legal recourse to survivors of child sexual abuse, according to a much-anticipated report released Wednesday.
The Office of State Inspector General found no evidence that the administrationâs failure to advertise the proposed constitutional amendment as required was deliberate or the result of outside pressure or âintentional malfeasance.â
But it did find the Department of State, which oversees elections, had no formal or written process in place for ensuring referendums appear on the ballot. There was also little, if any, executive oversight or staff training â a chronic complaint from employees interviewed for the inquiry â and paltry communication between the various bureaus within the department that are responsible for getting questions on the ballot.
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — “Internal systemic failures” were behind the Wolf administration’s bungling of a statewide referendum that would provide legal recourse to
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HARRISBURG A key state Senate committee on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to temporarily allow survivors of decades-old child sexual abuse to sue the perpetrators, an alternative path to justice after a Wolf administration error derailed a previous effort.
The 11-3 vote by the Judiciary Committee positions the bill for a historic floor debate as early as this week, a win for survivors and their advocates who have been pushing for it since the child sexual abuse cover-up scandal that enveloped the Catholic Church in the early 2000s.
In bringing the bill to a vote Wednesday, the committee’s chair, state Sen. Lisa Baker, of Dallas, Luzerne County, R-20th Dist., acknowledged long-standing objections by some Republican colleagues in the chamber who believe such a change can only legally be made by amending the state constitution, a lengthy and time-consuming process.