A bill that would remove Massachusetts' age cutoff for filing a civil childhood sexual abuse lawsuit has cleared the Judiciary Committee and is now sitting in Ways and Means, with the legislative session ending July 31, 2026. Here is what current law allows, what would change, and what survivors can do while the bill's fate is decided.
Reviewed by Abuse Justice Center · Updated 2026-07-18
A bill this close to a session deadline can move quickly or stall entirely, which is exactly why current deadlines, not the bill's outcome, should guide what survivors do right now.
House Bill 1829 would strike Massachusetts' current age cutoff for civil lawsuits over childhood sexual abuse entirely, so a survivor's ability to sue would no longer expire based on age at all. Right now, state law generally requires a survivor to file by age 53, or by age 60 in cases where a court accepts that the person repressed their memory of the abuse until later in life.
The bill's supporters argue that any fixed cutoff, even a generous one, fails to account for how differently trauma affects people's ability to come forward. Its lead sponsor has described trauma as something that buries itself under shame, fear, and a child's instinct to simply survive the situation, rather than following any predictable timeline.
As of mid-July 2026, H1829 has cleared the Judiciary Committee and moved into the Ways and Means Committee, one of the final procedural stops before a bill can reach the House floor for a vote. The current legislative session ends July 31, 2026, which puts real time pressure on supporters trying to get it to a full vote before the window closes.
The bill has drawn support from lawmakers across the chamber, including the Senate's majority leader, who has pointed to how commonly survivors suppress memories of abuse for years before recognizing the harm and deciding to speak out.
Massachusetts would not be the first state to remove its statute of limitations for these claims outright, but doing so would put it among a small group of states that have gone further than simply extending deadlines by a set number of years or opening a temporary revival window. Many states, including several with major news this year, have instead chosen lookback windows that open for a fixed period before closing again.
A full elimination avoids the ticking-clock pressure that comes with a temporary window, where survivors can feel rushed to decide whether to come forward before a deadline passes. That said, Massachusetts lawmakers still need to get the bill through Ways and Means and a floor vote in a compressed window before the session ends.
It is tempting to wait and see whether a bill like this passes before looking into your own situation, but that is not necessary and can cost you time either way. Current Massachusetts law already allows many survivors to file, including people well into their 40s and 50s, and a free case review can clarify exactly where your specific timeline stands under the law as it exists today.
If the bill does pass, it would likely open the door for people whose age already puts them past the current cutoff. Talking to an attorney now, before that happens, means you already understand your situation and are ready to act quickly if the law changes, rather than starting from scratch later.
You do not have to wait for a bill to pass to understand your options today.
Abuse Justice Center is a lawyer-matching and advocacy service, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. Matching and consultations are free, and network attorneys work on contingency. Need support now? The RAINN hotline is 800-656-4673, 24/7.
Not as of this writing. It has passed the Judiciary Committee and is currently before the Ways and Means Committee, with the legislative session ending July 31, 2026.
Survivors generally must file by age 53, or by age 60 if they can show in court that they repressed their memory of the abuse until later in life.
Talking to an attorney now costs nothing and lets you understand exactly where you stand, so you can move quickly if the law changes rather than starting from zero later.
Civil claims in Massachusetts can already reach both the person who committed the abuse and an institution that failed to prevent it, and this bill does not change who can be sued, only how long survivors have to file.