New Jersey Statehouse

A pair of measures spurred by the hazing-related death of a Penn State University student in 2017 that would elevate penalties for hazing resulting in bodily injury at colleges and schools passed the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday.

The two bills, S-3150 and S-3628, were voted out of committee at the same time Monday, receiving a 12-0 vote during the two-hour hearing in Trenton where lawmakers reviewed more than 50 other measures for passage. They now head to the full Senate for a floor vote. Sponsors say the bills are aimed at cracking down on dangerous ritual activities often associated with Greek fraternity life at college campuses.

S-3150 would make hazing-related activities that result in serious bodily injury a third-degree criminal offense, and those that cause simple injury would go from a disorderly persons offense to a fourth-degree criminal charge. S-3628 would expand the scope of hazing activities that amount to criminal activity.

"When our kids go to college, they should have the right to live and learn in a safe environment without fear," Sen. Kip Bateman, R-Somerset, prime sponsor of S-3150, said in a statement. "Parents who send their children off to school should demand no less. Unless we explicitly prohibit the deep-rooted custom of hazing, more families will suffer."

"For too long, hazing has been used as a rite of passage into college fraternities and sororities. It is dangerous, it is irresponsible, and tragically, it is sometimes deadly," added Sen. Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, primary sponsor of S-3628, in the same release. "If students are found guilty of hazing another student, they should fully understand the seriousness of this illegal practice and what's at stake. If we want students to stop hazing, there needs to be real consequences for their actions."

S-3628 also expands the list of activities that constitute hazing and establishes immunity for an individual who reports hazing to emergency services, remains on the scene, and cooperates with responders.

Timothy Piazza, who died in a hazing incident at Penn State University in 2017. Courtesy photo.

S-3150, known as the "Timothy J. Piazza Law," is named for the Penn State University sophomore from Readington who died during a fraternity hazing incident at the on-campus Beta Theta Pi fraternity house in early 2017. An investigation determined Piazza was pressured into consuming 18 alcoholic drinks in 90 minutes Feb. 2, 2017. He died two days later.

As a result of that, Bateman said his bill also clarifies that prohibited conduct includes causing, coercing or forcing consumption of alcohol or drugs.

"Students must understand that hazing is a crime, and there are serious, life-altering consequences for engaging in such malicious and depraved behavior," Bateman said. "This law will be a strong deterrent to ensure college kids get that message."

Since their son's death, Evelyn Piazza, 51, and Jim Piazza, 58, have made it their personal mission to make hazing a felony at colleges throughout the country to deter it.

The couple testified in Trenton last September and stood alongside Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf when he signed that state's anti-hazing bill into law in Harrisburg on Oct. 19, 2018. In Pennsylvania, the law is known as the "Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law," or "Tim's Law."

S-3150 previously passed the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee by an 8-0 vote on Sept 10, 2019. Singleton's separate bill, S-3628, which calls for adopting anti-hazing policies at colleges, high schools and middle schools, and would expand the activities encompassing criminal hazing, has a broader reach and definition of hazing compared with S-3150 and was held for a later hearing date. On Nov. 11, 2019, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-0 to pass it.

A-4728, the Assembly version of S-3150, is sponsored by Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, D-Burlington, Assemblyman Roy Freiman, D-Somerset, and Assemblyman John Armato, D-Atlantic. It was referred to the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee and has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.

A-5273, the Assembly version of S-3628, was introduced May 13, 2019, and referred to the Assembly Education Committee, where it is yet to be heard.