A bill that seeks to amend the state Tort Claims Act to clarify that public entities should be held to the same standard of liability that is applied to religious and nonprofit organizations in cases of sexual assault is advancing.

The measure most recently was amended and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee after receiving approval from the counterpart Assembly committee in May.

Sponsors call it “the cleanup piece” to the statute of limitations bill, S-477, that Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law last month to ease time bars on certain civil suits alleging sexual offenses—legislation the governor specifically requested. Murphy, when signing S-477, pointed out that the phrasing ”a public entity is liable” for sexual misconduct provided for no standard of proof and potentially exposed such entities to expanded liability.

The clarification bill, S-3749/A-5392, would take effect on Dec. 1, 2019, the same effective date as the new statute of limitations bill. It provides for liability standards in sexual abuse lawsuits filed against public entities and public employees that are identical to standards concerning civil suits against nonprofit entities set forth in the Charitable Immunity Act.

“This is the final piece,” said Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, primary sponsor of S-477 and S-3739, who has spent nearly his entire 20-year legislative career pushing for the time bar lifts for victims of sexual assault.

Vitale spoke of the legislation during a break in the upper chamber's voting session on Thursday in Trenton.

“The statute of limitations bill becomes law in December, and the Tort Claims Act [bill] will follow that. I am happy it's all done,” Vitale told the Law Journal. “This little cleanup piece is finished, and survivors can now move on and hold their perpetrators and those pedophiles accountable.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-1-1 on June 17 to pass S-3739. Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, was the lone “no” vote, while Sen. Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, abstained from voting.

A-5392 passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee 5-1 on May 20.

A-5392 would amend the Tort Claims Act to provide that: “Any immunity from civil liability granted to a public entity … or public employee shall not apply to an action at law claiming that a willful, wanton or grossly negligent act of a public entity or public employee resulted in a sexual assault, any other crime of a sexual nature, a prohibited sexual act as defined in section 2 of P.L.1992, c.7 (C.2A:61B-1) being committed against a person.”

A-5392 also says: “Any immunity from civil liability granted to a public entity shall not apply to an action at law claiming that the negligent hiring, supervision, or retention of any public employee resulted in a sexual assault, any other crime of a sexual nature, a prohibited sexual act as defined in section 2 of P.L.1992 , c.7 (C.2A:30B-2) or sexual abuse as defined in section 1 of P.L.1992, c.109 (C.2A:61B-1) being committed against a minor under the age of 18.”

The Senate measure, before passing the committee, was amended to say specifically that immunity provided by the TCA isn't applicable in cases of willful, wanton or reckless conduct, or negligent hiring or supervision. And “thus any available immunity from some other source of law could be raised by public entities and public employees as a defense to any such lawsuits,” the amended bill's statement says.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Middlesex, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-sponsor of S-3739, said it puts public entities “in line with every other entity in terms of sexual assault in concert with the other bill [S-477] and is just a cleanup to the Title 59 statute that's in place that governs public entities when they're subject to lawsuits.”

As a condition of his signing S-477 last month, Murphy requested that legislative sponsors quickly address a portion of the bill pertaining to public entities, such as schools and other taxpayer-funded organizations.

The way S-477 was worded could have effectively made public entities such as schools automatically liable for sexually based offenses without plaintiffs having to offer proof, according to attorneys and lawmakers who followed the bill.

The section of S-477 in question, raised as an issue partly because of the use of the phrase “is liable,” provides, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including but not limited to the 'New Jersey Tort Claims Act,' N.J.S. 59:1-1 et seq., a public entity is liable in an action at law for an injury resulting from the commission of sexual assault, any other crime of a sexual nature, a prohibited sexual act … or sexual abuse[.]”

In a statement, Murphy said, “This section inadvertently fails to establish a standard of proof for cases involving claims filed against public entities. If unaddressed, the lack of clarity would create uncertainty and likely lead to additional litigation.”

The signing of S-477 by the governor on May 13 significantly extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims in various ways, including by creating a two-year filing window for sexual abuse claims that would otherwise be time-barred by the statute of limitations that goes into effect on the bill's enactment on Dec. 1.