A proposal dealing with the statute of limitations over sex abuse of minors failed in the state Senate on Wednesday after no Republicans voted in favor of it, leaving the chamber’s 23 Democrats a vote short of sending the measure to the November ballot.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 would have asked voters to allow the Colorado General Assembly to pass legislation striking the state’s statute of limitations for filing a claim of sexual abuse against a child.

The current statute of limitations is six years, but supporters of the resolution say victims often wait years or even decades before they realize they’ve been abused and decide to file claims against their abusers.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last year that legislation passed in 2021 that removed the statute of limitations was unconstitutional because it was retrospective. That means the law would apply to actions in the past, which is barred by the state constitution.

In response, lawmakers went back to the drawing board to ask voters to grant them authority to pass that legislation. As a constitutional amendment, it would require 55% voter approval.

Supporters argued that the change is necessary to give children who were abused the opportunity to seek redress later in life. Those who didn’t vote for the measure said they stand by children and condemn those who harm them, but they argued the move would undermine trust in the legal system.   

Co-sponsor Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, told the Senate before the vote that “every child deserves an advocate” and a healthy and safe start. However, she said, that’s not the case for every child.

“We have people, adults, who prey, manipulate, and abuse children for sexual activity,” she said, noting that’s against the law. “A minor cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period. What we have in the statute of limitations is not a period. It’s a comma.” 

That comma means if “you’re abused as a child, you have only six years to report it” to file a civil lawsuit, she said. 

“We have an opportunity to send this measure to the voters to change that, to say if you are a child of sexual abuse, no matter when it happened, you can file a civil claim against the abuser and the institution,” she said.

The Democratic sponsors’ problem is their party lacked a supermajority. Democrats hold 23 seats in the state Senate and they needed 24 votes, which meant they had to secure the support of at least one Republican.

It wouldn’t be Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park, who initially signed on to co-sponsor the bill when it was introduced at the end of January. He has since withdrawn his support and his sponsorship.

The target was Sen. Perry Will, R-New Castle, who said supporters of the resolution contacted him to seek his vote.

Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, said Tuesday that retroactively changing the statute of limitations could increase penalties, raise due process concerns, and undermine trust in the legal system’s predictability.

In a statement after the vote, Senate Republicans said they stand together in condemning those who perpetrate crimes against children. Senate Republicans “have long fought for and will continue to strengthen protections of children and punish those who victimize them,” they said. 

But they argued that, if the resolution passed, it would have “upended numerous constitutional and legally settled rights we all depend on, including the principles of legal certainty and reliance, the principle of finality of litigation, and due process.” They also pointed out the legislature has eliminated the statute of limitations for both criminal charges and civil claims arising out of sexual abuse of a child, and that Republicans have sponsored numerous bills over the past 10 years to protect children who are abused.

Any similar citizen-initiated measure will not be on the November ballot, either, as the deadline for filing a ballot measure was March 22.