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California Democrats on Thursday announced a deal that would change how child sexual abuse claims are handled in the state, attempting to address a thorny issue that has divided advocates and public agencies.
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The agreement between Assembly and Senate leaders comes after more than a year of negotiations and is in response to concerns over a 2019 state law that expanded the circumstances and timeframe that Californians could file claims for alleged sexual abuse. The deal will make it harder for some people to win their lawsuits, if it passes, but it also keeps key aspects of the current law.
“Survivors of childhood sexual abuse deserve justice and to be made whole for the harm they experienced, and the institutions where that harm occurred must be held accountable,” said state Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who is authoring the new measure, Senate Bill 577. “At the same time, we have to make sure those public institutions can continue to operate and provide the services people depend on.”
The bill would raise the legal standard needed for people filing lawsuits on assault claims that occurred before Jan. 1, 2024 by someone who is 40 years old or older and would also require certain public agencies, including schools, to adopt sexual assault prevention plans and adopt codes of conduct.
The measure is supported by advocates who recently pleaded with legislators not to change the current law, which allowed people to sue until they are 40 years old or within five years of them finding out that a psychological injury was caused by the abuse.
“Survivors, young people, and advocates spent months urging California leaders not only to protect access to justice but also to confront the conditions that allow children to be sexually abused in foster care and juvenile justice systems,” said the Youth Law Center in a statement. “The final SB 577 agreement reflects meaningful progress on both fronts.”
The new bill also says that any attorney who alleges a sexual assault claim in bad faith would be subject to a penalty of $25,000 per violation, likely in response to concerns in Los Angeles County about fraudulent claims included in thousands of cases that made up a $4 billion agreement last year. And it would limit liability for public agencies in certain circumstances involving their employees.
“It is a compromise by many different entities,” said state Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Villa Park. “There are some things to like and some things not to like from everyone’s perspective.”
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School leaders in particular say the 2019 law has taken away their ability to serve their current students because it has increased the amount of money they are setting aside for lawsuits, driven up insurance costs and other issues. Representatives for counties and other public agencies also had raised concerns about the current law.
Ben Adler, a spokesperson for the California State Association of Counties, said it was still reviewing the bill, but he thanked legislative leaders for their efforts to address the issue.
The California School Boards Association expressed more concerns in its own statement, saying it respected the work that Legislature put into the measure to find a way that respects survivors and keeps schools solvent.
“It’s highly questionable whether SB 577 achieves this balance, but we are still in the process of analyzing what is a long and complicated bill,” said Chief Communications Officer Troy Flint. “While the bill has a number of helpful provisions, such as limited proportional liability, the absence of tort reform leaves schools vulnerable to claims that could push them into insolvency or force them to deprive today’s students and students in years to come of critical resources and support.”
The Youth Law Center statement acknowledged the financial challenges public agencies were facing, but said “the harm that created those costs is even more consequential.”
The agreement comes in the waning days of the legislative session and is one of several controversial issues legislators are attempting to address. It must pass before Sept. 1 to go before Gov. Gavin Newsom. The earliest the measure can be voted on is Sunday afternoon.
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This story was originally published August 27, 2026 at 4:46 PM.