By a vote of 60-1, the Colorado House of Representatives gave final approval to a bill that would allow victims of sexual misconduct, including childhood sex abuse survivors, unlimited time to sue their perpetrators and the institutions that harbored them.

“We’re thrilled to see House Bill 1296 pass out of the House with broad bipartisan support on the bill as a whole and with cosponsors signed on from both sides of the aisle,” said Raana Simmons, the director of policy for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which has taken the lead in supporting the bill. She added that the legislation would broaden the number of people with access to the legal system, eliminate an “arbitrary” time limit, and shift the cost of sexual assault “from victims and society to perpetrators and institutions.”

Since 1990, Colorado law has generally provided a window of six years for victims to sue their perpetrator for sexual abuse after they reach 18, or two years if they file suit against an employer or organization. HB1296 would define childhood sex abuse and other behaviors as “sexual misconduct,” and remove the civil statute of limitations prospectively for those offenses. It would also eliminate the time gap between liability for individuals and institutions.

Despite the overwhelmingly favorable vote in the House, there is no indication that HB1296 will even receive a hearing in the Senate due to the extraordinary circumstances brought by the pandemic. An aide to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, said that the committee is “focused on dealing with the large slate of bills we have now in Judiciary and can’t focus on ones that aren’t there yet.”

After the attorney general’s office released a report in October which found at least 43 Catholic priests likely abused at least 166 children in Colorado since 1950, Colorado Politics reported that one in five current members of the General Assembly was in favor of extending or eliminating the civil statute of limitations.

Rep. Bri Buentello, D-Pueblo, a Catholic and a survivor of sexual assault, was one of several legislators who did not commit to the idea at the time. “I waited to see the final text before deciding,” she said on Wednesday after voting for HB1296. “I believe the bill goes a long way towards achieving a just outcome for survivors of abuse.”

With four legislators excused, the lone no vote came from Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, D-Denver. Benavidez was also the single no vote on the House Judiciary Committee in March, saying that while she could support an extension of the statute of limitations, she could not back an outright elimination.

The late Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, pushed for a similar measure in 2006, after The Denver Post profiled a series of men who came forward alleging their abuse as boys by Catholic priests. Ian Silverii, currently the executive director of ProgressNow Colorado, was a onetime legislative aide to Green.

“While her idea faced bipartisan opposition over a decade ago, I’m certain that she saw it pass with overwhelming bipartisan support and is laughing her unforgettable laugh right now, wherever she is,” Silverii said. “It’s a good day for justice and it’s a good day to see something Gwyn worked so hard for finally get the support it needs to become law. Gwyn was way ahead of her time and this proves it.”

The 2006 attempt at extending the window for childhood victims of sexual abuse to sue ultimately failed after the Catholic Church alleged that the proposal was targeted at them and ignored abuse occurring in public schools. Some legislators also felt uneasy about letting parties litigate alleged incidents from years or decades in the past, during which time memories could fade or witnesses could be hard to find.