The Rhode Island House of Representatives on Tuesday approved three attorney general-backed bills that would open the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and other institutions to lawsuits and require additional reporting in sexual abuse cases.
The measures, sponsored by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Judiciary, now head to the Senate, where the tougher test awaits after similar reform stalled last year.
“Give the survivors a chance for justice,” McEntee, whose sister is a survivor of clergy abuse, said when introducing the legislation on the House floor. “There needs to be transparency and accountability.”
The first bill approved by lawmakers would open a “revival window” allowing previously expired claims against institutions and supervisors responsible for enabling or covering up sexual abuse. The window would open on July 1, 2026, and close on June 30, 2028.
McEntee’s proposal builds on the state’s 2019 law that gave victims 35 years to sue individual priests, teachers, coaches and others who molested them after reaching adulthood. The legislation adopted by the House would open the statute to apply to institutions like the church.
“It is clear many victims have been denied justice because the clock has ticked on the statute of limitations,” she said.
Lawmakers approved the bill Tuesday 66-7 — almost the same split in 2025 when the House voted on similar legislation that failed to make it to the Senate floor.
The second bill approved 65-7 in the House would extend the statute of limitations for second-degree sexual abuse — which typically involves non-penetrative sexual contact with another person regardless of age — from three to 10 years from the date of the offense, or 10 years from the victim’s 18th birthday.
McEntee’s third bill would extend the state’s mandatory reporting of abuse and neglect requirements to charter schools, parochial schools, after-school programs, camps and other programs involving children. It was approved 73-0.
All three proposals were recommended by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha in his 282-page report released March 4 detailing decades of abuse by clergy that was covered up by the Diocese of Providence.
Neronha’s report did credit the Diocese for recent institutional reforms that have lowered the risk of abuse, but found plenty of room for improvement.
Among the top suggestions was the need to extend the statute of limitations, which the report notes serve an important function in the state’s legal system, offering certainty and protection from the surprise of “stale” claims.
“Statutes of limitations especially matter in clergy abuse cases because they can provide an accused priest or diocese a complete defense against a claim, no matter how culpable they may have been in the abuse,” the report stated. “This would ensure that all survivors in Rhode Island are afforded a meaningful opportunity to file their claims against individual and institutional defendants in court if they so choose.”
But the Providence Diocese has been a staunch opponent of the proposal, arguing that it could face bankruptcy should the state open the church up to lawsuits.
“This will result in millions of dollars in legal fees for plaintiffs’ attorneys,” the Most Rev. Bernard A. Healey, chairman of the Rhode Island Catholic Conference, wrote to the House Committee on Judiciary during its March 12 hearing on the legislation. “The proposed retroactive change in the law does nothing to enhance the security of young people today.”
Healey also argued the legislation could violate constitutional due process — the same concern Rep. Brian Newberry, a North Smithfield Republican, during Tuesday’s House floor session.
“Statute of limitations exist for a reason,” Newberry said. “You can’t let people bring criminal prosecutions or civil suits if there’s no way to defend the claim.”
Rep. Brandon Potter, a Cranston Democrat who voted in favor of the bill, responded that the burden of proof would be on the plaintiff should they bring a suit against the church or other institutions.
“If those people are willing to put themselves out there… we as a body should do everything that we can to empower them,” he said.
But constitutional concerns were the very reason the Senate Committee on Judiciary declined to bring similar legislation to its floor last year.
Neronha’s office has promised to defend the constitutionality of Rhode Island’s law should it be enacted.
Sen. Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat who chairs the Committee on Judiciary, told Rhode Island Current Tuesday he is still reviewing House testimony and legal research to “make sure that any actions taken by the Senate are constitutional and appropriate.”
Senate President Valarie Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, said in a statement Tuesday that the AG’s report “provides valuable context for the Senate Judiciary Committee as it considers this year’s proposals.” She noted Senate leadership met last week with victims Ann Webb, McEntee’s sister, and Hub Brennan to hear their stories of surviving abuse.
“Their voices, and the voices of all abuse victims, are foremost in our minds as we consider these bills,” she said.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
