Victims of sexual assault or abuse as a child now have more time to sue, no matter how long ago the event occurred.

Gov. Doug Ducey immediately signed the bill into law creating an opportunity for survivors of abuse to file a lawsuit for seven years after they report the attack to a health professional.

That law now gives victims until their 30th birthday to file suit. That's 10 years longer than the current law, which is one of the shortest in the country.

Republican Sen. Heather Carter was one of two GOP members who refused to vote on the final budget unless lawmakers allowed victims to file later in life.

"It may take a lifetime for a buried memory to surface. But that does not diminish or eradicate the impact of the original event," she told fellow lawmakers before they voted.

Under pressure from fellow Republicans, Carter and fellow GOP Sen. Paul Boyer held up the budget on behalf of victims.

Carter had refused to give way to what she called "school yard bully tactics" from her critics.