CARROLL: Hardly evenhanded
By Vincent Carroll, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 12, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
In the two years since the state legislature first took up proposals to lift the statute of limitations on lawsuits involving the alleged sexual abuse of children, dozens of public employees or teachers in Colorado have been charged with sexual crimes against children.
This week, for example, a lab worker at a school in Highlands Ranch is scheduled to appear in court on felony counts for alleged offenses dating from 2000.
There's no doubt, in other words, that public institutions are just as capable of hiring and harboring sexual predators as private organizations.
As my column last Friday explained, Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, professes to be so concerned about allegations of sexual abuse of children by dead priests that she is sponsoring House Bill 1011 to lift the statute of limitations for civil suits against the Catholic Church and other private groups. And to placate critics of this extraordinary gift to trial lawyers, she has filed another bill to address sexual abuse in the public sector. My column mentioned this second bill only in passing, but House Bill 1239 deserves a closer look because it illustrates the shameless double standard at play in the desired treatment of private vs. public institutions.
Green's bill covering private groups would eliminate the statute of limitations even for alleged offenses occurring decades ago. Her bill covering the public sector would ease the statute of limitations for future claims.
Her first bill pointedly expands the ability of plaintiffs to hold institutions "vicariously liable" for the offenses of those who have died. The second bill is silent about such liability.
Don't forget that government's exposure to crippling legal settlements is already limited by damage caps much lower than those that apply to private parties (when they apply at all); those caps would not be raised. And as for punitive damages against public entities . . . forget it.
But here's the topper: HB 1239 kicks in to remove obstacles to lawsuits against public entities only if they've failed to perform "a legally required background check prior to hiring an individual who will work with children . . ."
In other words, if public agencies don't actually break the law in hiring, they're essentially off the hook.
A more level playing field? HB 1239 creates nothing of the sort.
Topsy-turvy
"I'm an ex-New Yorker, and I know about cabs. They can't be deregulated. Can you imagine what this place will look like if the cabs are deregulated? Thousands of cabs, and nobody will make any money." - Rep. Alice Borodkin, D-Denver
I'm not sure why a New Yorker would be more likely to "know about cabs," unless perhaps the person had driven one. As it happens, I did drive cabs in New York (Dalk taxi service, early 1970s), and I always had the opposite impression: I thought cabs in that city were grossly overregulated.
Just as they're overregulated here in metro Denver by state law and the Public Utilities Commission.
Anyway, Borodkin's concern is topsy-turvy. Transportation regulation - whether it's of airlines, trucks, trains or taxis - should focus on benefits to consumers, not on protecting the market share of producers. If "nobody" is making any money, then some people will move on to other lines of work.
It works in other professions.
Vincent Carroll is editor of the editorial pages. Reach him at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com.
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February 12, 2008
12:44 a.m.
Suggest removal
peterpi writes:
"Waah, Suzie did the same thing as me, and she didn't get punished!"
If HB 1011 is bad and unfair (and I believe it is), then throwing public schools to the lawyerly lions isn't the answer, killing the bill is. Or is Vincent simply trying to shame/blackmail the public school districts into pressuring lawmakers to kill the bill?
February 12, 2008
10:09 a.m.
Suggest removal
rickg19611 writes:
Typical leftwingers. Target private organizations (especially any with religious affiliations). Protect and excuse far worse offenses in public organizations.