We worked on a half dozen bills on Wednesday. One was H.F. 947, a bill that distinguishes and clarifies laws regarding civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons and persons with psychopathic personalities from other civil commitments. It passed 76-50. This is a follow-up to a law in 2011 that instructed the commissioner to work with the revisor of statutes to separate statutes relating to civil commitment of sex offenders from those related to civil commitment of other populations.
H.F. 681, also called the Child Victims Act, changes the statute of limitation period for civil actions involving sexual abuse. In most cases, there will be no time restrictions for child victims after the bill becomes law. Current law provides that any action for damages based on personal injury caused by sexual abuse must be commenced within 6 years from the time the plaintiff knows or had reason to know that the injury was caused by sexual abuse. The MN Supreme Court interprets the the statue of limitations as running from the age of 18, thus putting a cap on any claims by the age of 24. Often, the victims don’t come forward until later.