SPONSOR: Gallick
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on General Laws by a vote of 10 to 0. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules-Administrative by a vote of 10 to 0.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 234.
This bill provides that the offense of hazing shall be known as "Danny's Law" and provides that a person shall be found guilty of the offense of hazing if a person knowingly, actively, and not under duress participates in, solicits another person to participate in, or causes or plans a willful act that endangers a student or certain members of organizations under the sanction of a public or private college or university.
This bill provides that a person will not be guilty of the offense of hazing if the person establishes that he or she:
(1) Was present at the event where hazing occurred and a person was in need of immediate medical assistance;
(2) Was the first person to call 911 or campus security to report the need for medical attention;
(3) Provided the relevant information to the 911 operator or campus security; and
(4) Remained at the scene until medical assistance arrived and cooperated with such assistance.
Additionally, this bill provides that a person is immune from prosecution if the person can establish he or she rendered aid to the hazing victim before assistance arrived.
This bill is the same as SS#2 SB 167 (2025), and similar to HCS HB 1443 (2024) and HB 240 (2023).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill. PROPONENTS: Supporters say that these measures will save lives by seeking to eliminate hazing rituals and the current social acceptance around them. This bill further seeks to protect those people who want to help the victim of a hazing incident, but who might not offer assistance for fear of being blamed.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Gallick; Tom Santulli; Steven Mccartan; Arnie C. Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: