HARRISBURG –This month, Pennsylvanians were supposed to have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment to provide a path for victims of childhood sexual abuse to take civil actions.
However, the Pennsylvania Department of State failed to meet standard publication requirements for the amendment process and a clerical error within the department led to the removal of the question from the ballot, causing additional hardships to victims of childhood sexual abuse across the Commonwealth.
As a result, the House recently ordered an investigation into the error by establishing a select committee to determine what happened within the Department of State so that a mistake of this magnitude can never happen again.
“Our power as legislators is only strong as the people’s faith in us,” Speaker Bryan Cutler. “A constitutional amendment takes years to reach the voters, and the fact is we still know very little about what actually led to this failure.
“This committee will find out exactly what caused this breakdown, and work to restore the public’s trust in our processes.”
As established by House Resolution 91, the committee will examine, investigate and make a complete study of the publication of the constitutional amendment process.
The committee will be made up of the following members:
· Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Washington) – chair.
· Rep. Seth Grove (R-York).
· Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny).
· Rep. Margo Davidson (D-Philadelphia).
· Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks).