California 2019-2020 Regular Session Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 2 R · 1 D cosponsors

AB 218 — Damages: childhood sexual assault: statute of limitations.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 861, Statutes of 2019.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 16, 2019. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 7 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law requires that an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, as defined, be commenced within 8 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 3 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by sexual abuse, whichever occurs later, and provides that certain of those actions may not be commenced on or after the plaintiff's 26th birthday. Existing law also prohibits confidentiality provisions within a settlement agreement arising from a claim of childhood sexual abuse. This bill would expand the definition of childhood sexual abuse, which would instead be referred to as childhood sexual assault. This bill would increase the time limit for commencing an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault to 22 years from the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 5 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by sexual assault, whichever is later. This bill would also provide for the recovery of up to treble damages against certain defendants in these actions, and would revive time-lapsed claims in certain circumstances. Existing law, the Government Claims Act, generally requires the presentation of all claims for money or damages against local public entities. The Government Claims Act excludes from this requirement claims made for the recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, as defined, arising from conduct that occurred on or after January 1, 2009. This bill would change that reference from childhood sexual abuse to childhood sexual assault, as defined, and it would remove the requirement that the conduct occurred on or after that specified date. The bill would also make a conforming change to the provision governing confidentiality provisions in childhood sexual abuse claims.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 861, Statutes of 2019.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 69. Noes 0. Page 3612.).

  5. Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 3612.)

  6. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  7. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 2955.).

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  9. Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  10. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (August 30).

  11. In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  12. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 1.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  14. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  15. Referred to Coms. on JUD. and APPR.

  16. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  17. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 64. Noes 3. Page 956.)

  18. Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 812.)

  19. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  20. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (March 12).

  21. Measure version as revised on March 6 corrected.

  22. Coauthors revised.

  23. Referred to Com. on JUD.

  24. From printer. May be heard in committee February 16.

  25. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 114 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (114)

114 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 114 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

3rd Reading AB218 Gonzalez et al. By Jackson

Passed 33 Yea · 0 Nay · 7 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 23004
Democratic 10000
Republican 0003
Total 33007
% of votes cast 83%0%0%18%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Rubio — Yea
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Beall — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hill — Yea
Roth — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Allen — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Chang — Yea
Pan — Yea
Moorlach — Not Voting
Borgeas — Not Voting
Bates — Not Voting
Morrell — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Grove, Shannon Republican Not Voting
Jones, Brian W. Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended

Passed 5 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4001
Democratic 1000
Republican 0100
Total 5101
% of votes cast 71%14%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Wieckowski — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Bates — Not Voting
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 1000
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Wieckowski — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Bates — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 7 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 2001
Republican 0100
Total 7101
% of votes cast 78%11%0%11%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Borgeas — Not Voting
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

AB 218 Gonzalez Assembly Third Reading

Passed 64 Yea · 3 Nay · 13 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 39306
Democratic 23002
Republican 2005
Total 643013
% of votes cast 80%4%0%16%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Salas — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Smith — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Diep — Yea
Chau — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Gray — Yea
Holden — Yea
Daly — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Ting — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Levine — Yea
Melendez — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Low — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Burke — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Wood — Yea
Medina — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Chu — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Weber — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Brough — Nay
Kiley — Not Voting
Mayes — Not Voting
Bigelow — Not Voting
Frazier — Not Voting
Mathis — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Not Voting
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Not Voting
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Not Voting
Choi, Steven S. Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting
Gallagher, James Republican Not Voting
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea
Patterson, Joe Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 8 Yea · 2 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6200
Democratic 2001
Republican 0001
Total 8202
% of votes cast 67%17%0%17%
How each member voted (12)
Member Party Vote
Chiu — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Holden — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Chau — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Mark Stone — Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Not Voting
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 218 do?
Existing law requires that an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, as defined, be commenced within 8 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 3 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by sexual abuse, whichever occurs later, and provides that certain of those actions may not be commenced on or after the plaintiff's 26th birthday. Existing law also prohibits confidentiality provisions within a settlement agreement arising from a claim of childhood sexual abuse. This bill would expand the definition of childhood sexual abuse, which would instead be referred to as childhood sexual assault. This bill would increase the time limit for commencing an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault to 22 years from the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 5 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by sexual assault, whichever is later. This bill would also provide for the recovery of up to treble damages against certain defendants in these actions, and would revive time-lapsed claims in certain circumstances. Existing law, the Government Claims Act, generally requires the presentation of all claims for money or damages against local public entities. The Government Claims Act excludes from this requirement claims made for the recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, as defined, arising from conduct that occurred on or after January 1, 2009. This bill would change that reference from childhood sexual abuse to childhood sexual assault, as defined, and it would remove the requirement that the conduct occurred on or after that specified date. The bill would also make a conforming change to the provision governing confidentiality provisions in childhood sexual abuse claims.
Who sponsors AB 218?
AB 218 is sponsored by Chiu, Lackey, Tom (Republican), McCarty, Rivas, Robert (Democratic), Galgiani, Wilk, Gonzalez, Jeff (Republican), and Mark Stone.
What is the current status of AB 218?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 16, 2019. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 218?
Track AB 218 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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