Maryland lawmakers could seek to limit the state's liability under Child Victims Act
Published in News & Features
BALTIMORE — In one of the toughest legislative sessions in years, when Maryland lawmakers are already wrestling with a $3 billion budget deficit, they’re making moves to address their next challenge: how to afford Child Victims Act settlements.
They’re considering legislation that would limit how long victims could file lawsuits. In partnership with the attorney general, they are also working to limit the state’s responsibility.
“We want to make sure we’re fairly compensating, but there is a limit to everything,” Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat from Baltimore, said Tuesday morning.
Though this moment was predictable, it’s no easier to wrangle. State officials must contend with the potential $3.1 billion in settlements after the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Child Victims Act is constitutional. The ruling will allow survivors of child sexual abuse to move forward with their claims against the state regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred.
In 2023, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Child Victims Act, which removed the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors to file civil lawsuits against those responsible. The state could be on the hook for paying out up to $890,000 per occurrence of abuse.
In January, fiscal analysts from the Department of Legislative Services projected that the law could leave Maryland liable for $3.1 billion in settlement payments to 3,500 survivors of child sexual abuse. Most plaintiffs were housed in Department of Juvenile Services facilities, some dating back as far back as the 1960s.
In the 2025 budget season, state lawmakers are already contending with a $2.7 billion budget deficit and the uncertainty of what federal funding will be available under President Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court ruling ensures “we’re going to have to move forward here,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said he is in close communication with the attorney general and anticipates they will both take action this year to establish a compensation process for victims that “doesn’t overly burden the state.”
Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office has hired outside counsel to negotiate with the plaintiff’s attorneys to devise a sustainable way to pay them as settlement negotiations continue.
Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Will Smith, who sponsored the 2023 bill with House Economic Matters Committee Chair C.T. Wilson, said Tuesday that he is “very pleased” with the Supreme Court decision.
“I think it was a just outcome,” he said.
In an interview with The Baltimore Sun Monday evening, Wilson, himself a survivor of child sexual abuse, said that Monday’s decision is “beyond a sigh of relief.”
Given the potential for very large fiscal implications for the state, Smith said that forthcoming legislation would close the window for filing these lawsuits after a certain date but would still allow survivors to file claims regardless of how long ago they were abused.
Smith clarified that he has yet to see the specifics of the bill.
“Given the fiscal concerns of the state, I think it’s something we have to look at very seriously,” he said.
Gov. Wes Moore’s office declined to comment on the court decision.
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