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What got stripped out of Michigan's Nassar-related bills

The House Law and Justice committee scaled back the statute of limitations from the 30 years initially proposed to 10 years for civil cases and 15 years for criminal cases.
Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Larry Nassar sits in court listening to statements before being sentenced by Judge Janice Cunningham for three counts of criminal sexual assault in Eaton County Circuit Court on February 5, 2018 in Charlotte, Michigan.

LANSING — After six weeks of often passionate and emotional testimony from victims of former MSU sports doctor Larry Nassar, the Michigan House of Representatives is poised to vote on a scaled-back package of bills aimed at preventing childhood sexual abuse.

The bills also are meant to ensure protections for victims of sexual abuse and assault by extending the statute of limitations on prosecuting such crimes, but not by as long as initially proposed.

"This a tremendously important issue," said state Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township. "We knew our laws could be strengthened."

The House Law and Justice committee on Tuesday, however, scaled back the statute of limitations from the 30 years initially proposed to 10 years for civil cases and 15 years for criminal cases. People abused as children would have until their 28th birthday to sue or within three years of realizing that they had been abused.

The committee also shortened the time that someone could civilly sue someone retroactively dating back to 1997 from one year to 90 days after the law goes into effect.

"Our nation’s legal system has to be balanced and fair," said state Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit. "This holds perpetrators accountable and gives survivors access to the legal system. It's a bipartisan compromise."

Also stripped from the package was a bill that would have prohibited governmental immunity for public employees who should have known about sexual assault, but didn’t report it. That provision received intense criticism from a wide variety of groups, including organizations that provide sports and other activities for youth to the state concerned about the impact on attracting foster parents to take in needy children.

"We believe that government immunity is a taxpayer protection," Kesto said Tuesday evening. "Judgments against government entities ultimately are paid for by the taxpayers ... and we don't want to put taxpayers on the hook."

The action from the committee, which gave preliminary approval to amended bills on Tuesday and will take a final vote Wednesday, came as MSU is finalizing a $500 million settlement with 332 people who were abused by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment. Nassar has been convicted in federal court of possession of child pornography and in Ingham and Eaton circuit courts of sexually abusing several women. He is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.

His sentencing came after weeks of emotional impact statements from hundreds of women Nassar had abused either at clinics at MSU, through a gymnastics studio in Eaton County or through the U.S. Olympics team over the last 20 years.

Also included in the package of 28 bills: more education on sexual assault in schools; the development of best practices for invasive medical exams; a requirement that another medical professional be in the room when such exams take place; increasing the amount of time that records of invasive medical treatments are maintained and criminalizing the act of sexually assaulting someone under the guise of medical treatment; increasing the penalties for possession of child pornography; expanding the list of people who must report incidents of sexual assault to include physical therapists and their assistants, but not coaches.

The full House is expected to vote on the bills Thursday.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal

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