Changes at the Pennsylvania Department of State are taking place after it failed to advertise a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend retroactively the timeline for victims to file civil actions against their abusers. Because of the error, the process to amend the constitution must now start from the beginning, unless the General Assembly pursues this initiative through the bill process.
Effective Feb. 5, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar will leave the administration following three years with the department, including two years in her current role. The department is also immediately instituting new controls, including additional tracking and notifications of constitutional amendments, to ensure similar failings do not occur in the future. The governor has asked the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General to review the situation and make additional recommendations to improve the department’s process for handling constitutional amendments.
“This change at the Department of State has nothing to do with the administration of the 2020 election, which was fair and accurate,” said Wolf. “The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault, advocates and legislators, and I join the Department of State in apologizing to you. I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice.
“The process that you have made through your bravery and activism is remarkable, and I urge all of the advocates, including Sen. Lisa Baker, Rep. Jim Gregory, Rep. Mark Rozzi, Attorney General Josh Shapiro and all others, to keep up this fight. Your voices still must be heard.”
The proposed amendment, which is in response to the child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, first passed the legislature as House Bill 963 in November 2019. The Department of State was constitutionally required to advertise the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment in two newspapers in every county, in each of the three months before the next general election when members of the General Assembly are elected. That advertising did not occur before the 2020 general election.
Proposed constitutional amendments must pass in two consecutive sessions of the state legislature, after which the proposal is put to the voters in a statewide referendum. The General Assembly was set to begin the process for second passage of the amendment this week. In preparing for the potential passage, DOS staff noticed late last week that the amendment was not previously advertised.
The governor would commit to working with the General Assembly to reach a legislative resolution, if the General Assembly wants to pursue a bill creating a civil “window” for victims to file child sexual abuse claims.
Wolf thanked Boockvar for taking responsibility for the department’s error and praised her leadership over the past three years.
“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished for the people of Pennsylvania,” said Boockvar. “I’ve always believed that accountability and leadership must be a cornerstone of public service. While I only became aware of the mistake last week, and immediately took steps to alert the administration to the error, I accept responsibility on behalf of the department.”
The governor will appoint Veronica Degraffenreid to service as acting secretary of the commonwealth. Degraffenreid was the department’s special advisor on election modernization. She has over 12 years of experience in election administration and was the former director of election operations for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) and Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) released the following statement:
“Today is a sad day for victims. For the last 12 months, our caucus has raised serious concerns about this administration’s ability to competently manage the basic functions of state government. Today, our worst fears were realized by the revelation that incompetency in the Department of State may stand in the way of victims being able to seek justice.
“Also troubling is the unconstitutional interference of Pennsylvanians being able to determine their own form of government by amending their Constitution. The executive branch’s role is ministerial – and their failure to carry out these simple functions directly threatens the provisions of Article XI of our Constitution.
“We are also mindful that just a few weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court struck down a constitutional amendment to strengthen victims’ rights due to a technicality.
“That amendment was overwhelmingly supported in favor of victims by the voters who actually adopted it at the ballot box. That majority popular vote was set aside by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and now years of additional delay will result for victims in our state.
“While we appreciate the governor’s swift action in seeking Secretary Boockvar’s resignation, it will not undo further delay of justice for victims of child sexual abuse and the harm the administration has caused to people’s faith in their ability to carry out the basic processes of our government.
“Pennsylvanians deserve better. Much better.”
