Senate Bill S6372

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6372

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the local finance law, in relation to the probable
usefulness of judgments, compromised claims or settled claims resulting
from certain child sexual abuse cases

 
PURPOSE:

To allow school districts to bond for up to 30 years for judgements or
settlements resulting from the CVA.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends paragraph a of section 11.00 of the local finance law
by adding a new subdivision 33-a-1 which allows school districts, BOCES,
and Special Act school districts to bond for up to 30 years on judge-
ments, compromised claims, or settled claims resulting from CVA cases.

 
              

JUSTIFICATION:

The Child Victims Act, passed in 2019, created a look-back period for
adult survivors of child sexual abuse to file a civil lawsuit against an
individual or institution, even if the statute of limitations had
elapsed. During the two-years the window was open, more than 10,000
claims were filed.(1) According to research by Child USA, 13.4% of these
cases named a public or non-public school as a defendant.(2)

The CVA has provided an important opportunity for thousands of New York-
ers to pursue justice through civil claims for abuse they suffered as
children. It has also placed a financial burden on many public insti-
tutions, particularly public schools, who are named in cases that are
often decades old. In many cases, school districts are responding to
lawsuits for abuse that occurred under entirely different administrators
and staff many decades prior.

This legislation aims to give school districts more flexibility in
paying out judgements or settlement claims that result from CVA cases.
Under current law, districts may bond over 15 years to pay out a judge-
ment that exceeds a certain financial threshold. This bill would extend
that authority to 30 years for any judgement or settlement related to
the CVA. This will ensure that survivors can continue to pursue their
cases against school districts, while giving districts additional tools
to pay claims without adversely impacting current students.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
1 "Statute of Limitations Reform Serves the Public Interest: A Prelimi-
nary Report on the New York Child Victims Act." Child USA, The Sean P.
Mcllmail Statute of Limitations Research Institute. August 23, 2021.
Accessed 3/10/25.  https://childusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08
/A-Preliminary-Report-on-the-New-York- Child-Victims-Act.pdf
2 Ibid.