The Missouri House on Thursday approved a proposal to extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Filed by state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson, the bill would extend the amount of time survivors have to file civil action against a perpetrator. Survivors would have until age 41 to file civil action, rather than age 31.
Seitz鈥檚 bill was , in the Branson area.
The legislation that contained Seitz鈥檚 bill passed out of the House on Thursday 92 to 42, with 24 voting present. The opposition, from Democrats and Republicans alike, was due to parts of the bill unrelated to the childhood sexual abuse piece.
It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
In 2023, the didn鈥檛 receive a vote in the House and never got to a committee hearing in the Senate. the bill never came to a vote in the House.
Seitz鈥檚 bill hasn鈥檛 had a committee hearing this year but was passed out of committee unanimously in the last two years.
Opposition in has come primarily from insurance companies raising concerns about being exposed to liability.
The legislation was tacked on as an amendment to another a Republican from Ava.
鈥淭his amendment is not the perfect fix,鈥� Seitz said during debate on the House floor earlier this week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a start. And it gives victims time and hope 鈥� I ask this body to, once again, in a bipartisan manner, do what鈥檚 right and help those who were harmed as children.鈥�
Personal injury claims
The underlying bill relates to statutes of limitations for personal injury claims, which are governed by a separate legal framework than childhood sexual abuse claims.
Overcast鈥檚 bill reduces Missouri鈥檚 statute of limitations for personal injury claims from five years down to two years, meaning individuals would have less time to file a lawsuit after an injury.
Overcast said it would help the state compete economically and help small businesses protect themselves against frivolous lawsuits.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good, sound legal policy,鈥� Overcast said Thursday. 鈥淚t promotes the economic viability of our state, puts us in a place to compete with our neighboring border states who are well below our current five year statute of limitations.鈥�
Missouri鈥檚 statute of limitations for personal injury claims is , Maine and North Dakota.
Opponents said the change would stymie access to justice for those who are injured and seeking redress.
鈥淭his is designed to protect insurance companies, not you,鈥� said state Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia. 鈥淚f you get injured, you need that time, five years is not overly generous.鈥�
Several lawmakers said they support the amendment to extend the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse survivors but not the underlying bill to reduce the statute of limitations for personal injury.
鈥淭he problem I have with this is the amendment is so good,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚 may have to vote 鈥榩resent鈥� on this because of the great amendment that鈥檚 on this.
鈥淎nd I know that, probably, there鈥檚 a strategy behind that.鈥�
The bill was heard immediately after the House approved to protect a pesticide maker from charges that it didn鈥檛 warn customers that one of its most popular products causes cancer, which state Rep. Raychel Proudie pointed out.
鈥淲hen someone hurts you, you should certainly be able to seek justice. Justice is something that we should be entitled to,鈥� said Proudie, a Ferguson Democrat. 鈥淩educing that here is kind of breathtaking.鈥�
State Rep. Michael Davis, a Republican from Belton, said the two components of the bill are inconsistent.
鈥淚鈥檓 wondering, how can it be both that it鈥檚 good to lower the statute of limitations for personal injury,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 also, on the other side, good to be doubling the statute of limitations for the child offenses, which do not start running until they become an adult?鈥�
Overcast replied that he doesn鈥檛 鈥渟ee them both in the same lens.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 looking at this through economic vitality for the state perspective,鈥� Overcast said, adding that lowering the statute of limitations for personal injury claims will incentivize people to bring claims earlier.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to pass smart policy in this state that allows businesses to grow without burdening access to justice, and this bill does that,鈥� Overcast said.
When state Democratic state Rep. LaKeySha Bosley asked Seitz whether there were other possible avenues for his bill, he said 鈥渢his may be the last time this year.鈥�
Seitz urged members to vote for the bill and said once it is in the Senate鈥檚 hands, 鈥渋t will be changed in some way, hopefully making it more palatable for all sides.鈥�
He added: 鈥淟et us not make perfect the enemy of the good. This is the vehicle in which we can give these adult children a chance.鈥�
Child sex abuse survivors
Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, presents his bill to extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 13, 2023 (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent). According to the nonprofit child protection advocacy group , Missouri is currently one of 18 states with the age cap set at 34 years old or younger 鈥� which the group ranks as the worst states in terms of statutes of limitations for child sex abuse survivors.
former Kanakuk Kamps camper Evan Hoffpauir testified about the impact of Missouri鈥檚 statute of limitations on him.
For more than a decade, Hoffpauir believed the camp director who sexually abused him at the Branson-area Kanakuk Kamps had acted alone.
As a child growing up in Branson, he was involved with Kanakuk鈥檚 youth ministries, and said he was abused by Kanakuk director Pete Newman from 1999 to 2003. Newman pleaded guilty in 2010 to seven counts of sexual abuse, and the prosecutor said Newman鈥檚 victim count might be in the hundreds.
Newman is currently serving two life sentences plus 30 years in prison.
Kanakuk leadership maintains that they had no advanced knowledge of his behavior, and Newman was a 鈥渕aster of deception.鈥�
Initially, Hoffpauir believed them.
鈥淸Leadership] stated they fired Newman as soon as they were aware of his abusive behaviors, and that he acted alone,鈥� Hoffpauir said at that hearing. 鈥淎nd I believed this narrative for over a decade.鈥�
But when he came to believe camp leadership was responsible, too, it was too late: But by the time new evidence was uncovered through national media investigations, Hoffpauir was too old to file a civil suit against the camp and its leadership.
鈥淎s I sought out legal action in an effort to hold my enablers accountable, I was crushed to find out I was a few years past Missouri鈥檚 statute of limitations,鈥� Hoffpauir said.
鈥淭he law was telling me there was nothing to be done about it,鈥� he added, 鈥渁nd the clock had run out on me.鈥�
