BILL NUMBER:  SB 924
  VETOED	DATE: 09/30/2014




To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 924 without my signature.

This bill would extend the time a victim may bring a civil child sex
abuse case from age 26 to age 40.

Until 1990, the statute of limitations for civil cases involving sex
abuse against a minor was within one year of the victim's 18th
birthday. That law was changed in 1990 to allow a claim against the
perpetrator up until the victim's 26th birthday. It was expanded
again in 1998 to allow a claim up to age 26 against third parties,
and yet again in 2002 to allow a delayed-discovery claim against
third parties.

Statutes of limitations exist as a matter of fundamental fairness. As
I wrote last year, there comes a time when an individual or
organization should be secure in the reasonable expectation that past
acts are indeed in the past and not subject to further lawsuits.
With the passage of time, evidence may be lost or disposed of,
memories fade and witnesses move away or die.

There needs to be a compelling reason to lengthen the statute of
limitations for civil claims against third parties. I do not see
evidence of that here.

Sincerely,



Edmund G. Brown Jr.