State committee clears anti-hazing proposal, moving closer to full vote
A proposal that would overhaul the state’s anti-hazing laws passed the State Senate Judiciary committee just days after it was first proposed by state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman.
Mr. Corman, a Republican, named the proposal the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law after 19-year-old Timothy J. Piazza died last year in a hazing-related accident at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house at Penn State. With the committee clearing the proposal, it could now go to a full vote, which Mr. Corman hopes will happen by mid-April and be passed in time for the new school year.
“Working with the Piazza family, prosecutors, universities and others, we have developed wide-ranging antihazing legislation that focuses at prevention, enforcement and transparency,” Mr. Corman, who is the father of three children nearing college age, said in a prepared statement. “With this proposal, students will have the tools they need to make informed choices about the groups they consider joining as well as safeguards so they can make good decisions in times of distress.”
If enacted, the law would create levels of increasing charges that could be filed against students who are members of an organization. The punishment would scale from a summary charge for hazing up to a 3rd degree felony, depending on the cruelty and harm of the incident.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2018/03/28/Anti-hazing-proposal-passes-tate-Senate-Judiciary-committee-jake-corman-pa-penn-state-greek/stories/201803280083