Challenge
Massachusetts Citizens for Children (“MCC”) is a statewide organization that serves as an umbrella for specific child advocacy programs, including the Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws in Massachusetts (CORSAL). In this role, the MCC serves as an activist for the rights of vulnerable child populations across Massachusetts. Despite their history of successful advocacy and several attempts to pass legislation, the MCC had been unable to eliminate the statute of limitations on all sexual crimes against children, a key CORSAL objective.

When the MCC engaged O’Neill and Associates’ government relations team, the legislation had been locked in the Massachusetts Legislature's Judiciary Committee and the end of the legislative session was rapidly approaching. The MCC wanted to get the legislation out of committee and approved as soon as possible, while retaining the proposed language and implications of the original bill.

Solution
On behalf of the MCC, O’Neill and Associates reached out to key stakeholders in the Legislature to clarify misunderstandings about the ramifications of the bill and to build a consensus between the Legislature and affected parties. Working through various policy vehicles such as the budget, legislative committees and the informal legislative session, O’Neill and Associates exhausted all possible routes to ensure the bill was not only passed, but maintained its original intentions.

Results
On September 21, 2006, because of O’Neill and Associates’ efforts, Lt. Governor Kerry Healey signed into law House Bill 5234 which extends, and in some cases eliminates, the statute of limitations for sex crimes in the Commonwealth. Listed as Chapter 303 of the Acts of 2006 of the Massachusetts General Law, the passage of this bill enacted the most comprehensive advance against sexual crimes in decades.

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