SB 43

SB43 INTRODUCED
1 SB43
2 ZQ962WK-1
3 By Senator Coleman   (Constitutional Amendment)
4 RFD: Judiciary
5 First Read: 13-Jan-26
6 PFD: 08-Jan-26
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ZQ962WK-1 01/08/2026 GP (L)bm 2026-95
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4 SYNOPSIS:
5Under the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, the
6Legislature has no power to revive any right or remedy
7which may have become barred by lapse of time or by
8statute.
9This bill would propose an amendment to the
10Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to allow the
11Legislature to revive any time-barred civil claim
12arising from child sexual abuse.
13This bill would allow the Legislature to create
14procedures relating to such claims.
15This bill would also provide legislative
16findings.
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18
19A BILL
20TO BE ENTITLED
21AN ACT
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23Relating to child sexual abuse; to add Section 95.1 to
24 the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to authorize the
25 Legislature to revive civil claims relating to child sexual
26 abuse and provide procedures relating to such claims; to
27 provide legislative findings; and to define the term "child
28 sexual abuse."
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29 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
30Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution
31 of Alabama of 2022, is proposed:
32PROPOSED AMENDMENT
33Section 95.1 is added to the Constitution of Alabama of
34 2022, to read as follows:
35Section 95.1
36(a) The Legislature makes the following findings:
37(1) Child sexual abuse is a pervasive and devastating
38 crime that inflicts lifelong harm on survivors and causes
39 lasting damage to families and communities. Studies
40 demonstrate that approximately one in five girls and one in 13
41 boys in the United States experience sexual abuse during
42 childhood.
43(2) Approximately one-third of victims never disclose
44 their abuse to anyone, ever. The remaining two-thirds
45 typically delay disclosure until adulthood, often decades
46 after the abuse occurred.
47(3) Delayed disclosure is a well-documented and
48 predictable consequence of childhood sexual abuse.
49(4) The current legal barriers prevent survivors of
50 child sexual abuse from pursuing civil claims, such as
51 statutes of limitation and claim-presentation deadlines,
52 undermine the pursuit of truth and accountability and deny
53 survivors meaningful access to justice.
54(5) Accordingly, an amendment to the Constitution of
55 Alabama of 2022, is necessary to authorize the Legislature, by
56 general law, to revive any civil right or remedy arising from
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57 child sexual abuse, notwithstanding any statute of
58 limitations, statute of repose, notice-of-claim requirement,
59 or other procedural or temporal bar.
60(6) This authorization is necessary to:
61a. Ensure that the laws of Alabama reflect modern
62 scientific understanding of trauma and delayed disclosures;
63b. Provide survivors of child sexual abuse a fair
64 opportunity to be heard and to seek redress;
65c. Promote accountability and protect children from
66 abuse in the future; and
67d. Hold perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse
68 accountable.
69(b)(1) Notwithstanding Section 95 of the Constitution
70 of Alabama of 2022, the Legislature, by general law, may
71 revive any civil claim arising from child sexual abuse,
72 including claims that are otherwise time-barred by a statute
73 of limitations, statute of repose, notice-of-claim or
74 claim-presentation requirement, or any other temporal
75 condition precedent. A general law enacted pursuant to this
76 subsection may:
77a. Be retroactive and revive claims that were barred
78 before, on, or after January 1, 2027;
79b. Include provisions regarding venue, confidentiality,
80 protective orders, records handling, and the rights and
81 defenses of parties;
82c. Authorize actions against public or private
83 individuals or entities;
84d. Not revive any claim that has been finally
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85 adjudicated on the merits or that has been released by a
86 signed settlement agreement for which consideration has been
87 paid; and
88e. Not disturb any final judgment.
89(2) For the purposes of this section, "child sexual
90 abuse" refers to conduct of a sexual nature directed at an
91 individual under 19 years of age which is, or would be,
92 punishable under the criminal laws of this state, including,
93 but not limited to, attempts, solicitations, and other
94 non-contact sexual exploitation.
95(c) Nothing in this section authorizes the revival of
96 criminal prosecutions or alters constitutional protection
97 applicable to criminal proceedings.
98Upon ratification of this constitutional amendment, the
99 Code Commissioner shall number and place this amendment as
100 appropriate in the constitution omitting this instructional
101 paragraph and may make the following nonsubstantive revisions:
102 change capitalization, hierarchy, spelling, and punctuation
103 for purposes of style and uniformity; correct manifest
104 grammatical, clerical, and typographical errors; revise
105 internal or external citations and cross-references; harmonize
106 language; and translate effective dates.
107END OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT
108Section 2. An election upon the proposed amendment
109 shall be held in accordance with Sections 284 and 285 of the
110 Constitution of Alabama of 2022, and the election laws of this
111 state. The appropriate election official shall assign a ballot
112 number for the proposed constitutional amendment on the
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113 election ballot and shall set forth the following description
114 of the substance or subject matter of the proposed
115 constitutional amendment:
116"Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama
117 of 2022, to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to
118 revive any time-barred civil claims relating to child sexual
119 abuse.
120Proposed by Act ____."
121This description shall be followed by the following
122 language:
123"Yes( ) No( )."
124Section 3. The proposed amendment shall become valid as
125 a part of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, when approved
126 by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.
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