Governor Kim Reynolds, with just a few hours to spare, has signed a bill into law that will help hundreds of Iowans get a full payment from a legal settlement for victims who were abused by Boy Scout leaders.
“Those who were sexually abused while in Boy Scouts should have the ability to receive the greatest amount of compensation available,” Reynolds said in a written statement. “Even after an initial disclosure, it may take many more years before a victim is willing to file a legal action in a public court proceeding. We should not stand in the way of these survivors receiving their justified compensation.”
A $2.4 billion compensation fund was created for thousands of men who were molested as children by scoutmasters or other leaders in the organization. The legislature and governor have agreed to provide an exemption to the Iowa law that requires child sex abuse victims to file lawsuits by the time they reach the age of 19 — or within four years of when they realized they’d been abused.
Early this morning, Representative Ann Meyer, a Republican from Fort Dodge, warned the deadline for action was today to ensure “our claimants in Iowa, estimated to be between 300 and 700,” would not have their settlement payment reduced by 70%.
Representative Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat from Waterloo, said hundreds of Iowa men who were victimized have been counting on the legislature to act and she used to work with one of them. “Now he’s 70 years old and he deserves to have an end to this,” Brown-Powers said. “All we need to do is to make sure he is allowed that.”
Ten days ago the Senate unanimously voted to provide the waiver to this group of former Boy Scouts. Some House members expressed concerns that making this exception to the law would bring on a wave of other requests. The House passed the bill earlier today, on a 90-1 vote, after House members made an adjustment to the bill. Representative Charley Thomson of Charles City said the change makes the legislature’s intent clear.
“While it is normally not the policy of the State of Iowa or the General Assembly to waive or make exceptions to statutes of limitation, we are doing so in this very rare set of circumstances,” Thomson said.
Thomson said without the change, there was a good chance someone would sue to block the bill from becoming law. The Senate unanimously accepted the change this afternoon and sent the bill to the governor.