The sister of Jeffrey Klee, the 18-year-old from Coral Springs who mysteriously disappeared more than 30 years ago, asked lawmakers today to pass a bill named in his honor.

The legislation (SB92 and HB1) would eliminate the statute of limitations on civil wrongful death claims in cases of murder.

Klee disappeared in 1977 but authorities discovered his body in a van at the bottom of a canal and identified the suspect in 2008.

"Unfortunately they'll never see the inside of a courtroom," said Cyndy Klee, now a sergeant at the Coral Springs Police Department, told
lawmakers this story before the committee approved the bill unanimously.

Under a state law that was on the books at the time of Klee's death, too much time had passed for prosecutors to pursue a criminal case and the family to file a civil lawsuit.Though the Legislature already has removed the time limit for filing criminal cases in homicides, the limit on civil cases remains at two years.

Similar legislation swiftly passed the House in 2009 but died in the Senate because of its estimated fiscal impact.