For the second year in a row, Colorado Senate Republicans rejected a proposal to bring a constitutional amendment to voters that would eliminate the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases.
Sens. Dafna Michaelson Jenet (D-Commerce City) and Jessie Danielson (D-Wheat Ridge), along with House Majority Leader Monica Duran (D-Wheat Ridge), sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 002 after a four-year push to remove time limits on civil claims involving child sexual abuse. They argued that victims often wait decades before coming forward.
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Colorado Senate Republicans voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims after the current statute of limitations had expired.
The amendment, supported by Democratic lawmakers and victim advocacy groups, was intended to bypass a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that blocked similar legislation as unconstitutional.
Opponents, including Republicans and the Catholic Church, argued that retroactively changing the law violated legal principles and could have major financial consequences for institutions facing lawsuits.
In 2021, Danielson and Michaelson Jenet, alongside former Sen. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora) and Rep. Matt Soper (R-Delta), passed a bill allowing victims to file civil claims against their abusers and the institutions where abuse occurred. The Colorado Supreme Court struck down the law in 2023, ruling that it violated the state constitution’s ban on retrospective legislation. The court told lawmakers they would need to amend the constitution for such a policy to stand.
Last session, Danielson, Fields, Duran, and then-Rep. Mike Weissman (D-Aurora) introduced SCR 001 to amend the constitution, but the Senate defeated it.
“Once again, I return alongside victims of sexual assault asking for justice,” Danielson told the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee last week. “Today reflects years of struggle and heartbreak because this legislature has yet to address survivors’ calls for justice.”
This year, the resolution met the same fate. All 12 Senate Republicans voted against it, preventing the measure from reaching the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to appear on the ballot.
Opponents, including the Catholic Church, warned that eliminating the statute of limitations would flood courts with lawsuits, bankrupt nonprofits, and create cases that are impossible to litigate due to lost evidence, deceased witnesses, and missing records. “It is just simply not possible to get to [the] truth after such a long time and effectuate justice under these circumstances,” said Jessica Fuller of the Colorado Catholic Conference.
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen (R-Monument) acknowledged the horror of child sexual abuse but said he based his vote on legal principles rather than emotion. “As a matter of my heart, this is a very difficult vote. As a matter of principle and the rule of law, this vote is clear,” he said.
Despite the defeat, sponsors vowed to keep fighting. “SCR25-002 was our effort to right the wrongs of the past,” Michaelson Jenet said. “Its failure this year does not mark the end of our pursuit of justice. I will continue to fight to hold perpetrators accountable.”
Advocates now plan to introduce the amendment as a citizen-led ballot initiative in 2026. Danielson told constituents that if Republicans refuse to act, advocates will go directly to voters. “Today we gave Republican legislators one last opportunity to side with victims instead of abusers,” she said. “They chose wrong. Now the work begins.”