By: KDKA-TV News Staff

HARRISBURG (KDKA/AP) – Pennsylvania Secretary Of State Kathy Boockvar is leaving the Wolf administration after the Department of State failed to advertise a constitutional amendment as required before the 2020 general election, delaying the required voter referendum for at least two years.

HB 963, in response to the child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, would retroactively extend the timeline victims have to file civil action against their abusers.

The General Assembly was set to begin the process for the second passage of the amendment this week. That’s when the Department of State realized they had made a mistake.

As required by the state’s constitution after the first passage of an amendment, the proposed amendment’s wording was not advertised in two newspapers in every county in each of the three months before the general election.

Now the process to amend the constitution has to start all over unless the General Assembly decides to pass a bill instead.

As a result, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is leaving her job effective Feb. 5 and the inspector general will be looking into the matter.

“This change at the Department of State has nothing to do with the administration of the 2020 election, which was fair and accurate,” said Gov. Wolf in a release. “The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault, advocates and legislators, and I join the Department of State in apologizing to you. I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice.”

Shortly before Wolf’s announcement, the Department of State issued a press release apologizing for the mistake.

House Republican spokesperson Jason Gottesman said caucus leaders are angry about the mistake, first reported by Spotlight PA.

“I think the people that should be very upset are one, the victims who will not have justice, delayed once again by this administration’s incompetency, and the people of Pennsylvania who can’t trust this administration to perform the basic processes,” Gottesman said.

Constitutional amendments must pass both chambers in two successive two-year sessions before going before voters in a referendum as the final OK. That had been expected to occur in the May 18 primary.

“I’m just shocked,” said state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, a prime backer of the amendment. “I just can’t believe that this is where we are at right now in this process, that the secretary of state has dropped the ball.”

Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the error “shameful,” saying “all options must be on the table to fix this immediately.”

“Too many institutions have failed survivors of sexual abuse for far too long, and I am determined for that disgraceful streak to end and to make sure justice is no longer denied,” said Shapiro in a statement.

Just last week, the state House gave what was then thought to have been its final approval to a proposal to change the Pennsylvania Constitution to give those who say they were victims of child sexual abuse a retroactive two-year “window” in which to file civil lawsuits, no matter how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.

Victims of childhood sexual abuse have long sought another change to sue their perpetrators or institutions that covered it up. Many of them lost the chance to sue when they turned 18, or as young adults, depending on the state law at the time.

In 2018, a landmark state grand jury report gave the fight new life, recommending that the now-adult victims of child sexual abuse get a two-year reprieve from time limits in state law that otherwise bars them from suing.

The House of Representatives passed it overwhelmingly weeks later, and it had support from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Senate Democratic leaders and victim advocates.

However, Senate Republicans blocked a floor vote on it, calling it unconstitutional. It also had opposition from Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic bishops and the insurance industry, which said that its premiums had never accounted for the potential of such liability.

The state’s dioceses opened temporary victim compensation funds and lawmakers later agreed to set in motion the multi-year process for amending the constitution to allow the two-year window.

(TM and © Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)