BOISE -- Senators voted unanimously today to give Idaho sex abuse victims more time to file civil lawsuits in their cases.

In companion legislation that also won support, the statute of limitations to charge somebody for failing to report abuse or neglect would be extended to four years from one.

Both bills have passed the House and await Governor Butch Otter's signature.

Victims of child sex abuse now must file civil claims in their cases within five years after turning 18.

Under the bill, a claim could be filed after a child turns 18, within five years of the time he or she "discovers or reasonably should have discovered the abuse and its relationship to an injury suffered by the child."

The bill also adds a new section allowing abuse victims to file civil claims against employers of perpetrators, if the employers knew of abuse and were negligent in not helping stop it.