Effects of amnesty policy unclear

It’s been almost 10 months since the Pennsylvania General Assembly unanimously passed the… It’s been almost 10 months since the Pennsylvania General Assembly unanimously passed the state’s alcohol amnesty bill.

The act, which was signed into law on July 7, grants amnesty only to the underage drinker who calls emergency services for an intoxicated friend. The underage person who calls the police will not face prosecution for underage drinking or possession of alcohol as long as the person believes he is the first person to contact emergency services, does it in “good faith,” provides his name to the emergency officer or operator and waits with the friend until help arrives.

Now the new amnesty bill is playing out in college campuses across Pennsylvania, and for colleges like Pitt, which previously had a zero-tolerance policy with regards to underage drinking, that means a change in policy. Pitt made changes to its Student Code of Conduct last summer to adhere to the state law.

But experts say it’s hard to tell if it’s made a difference. Pitt Police Community Relations Officer Ron Bennett said it’s hard to tell if the new policy is having any effect on students.

“Right now it doesn’t appear that anyone is utilizing the new policy,” Bennett said.

Sean Moll, legislative assistant to State Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, the first sponsor of the Senate bill 448, said that he hasn’t received any updates on how the new law is doing.

Wendy Zellner, UPMC Media Relations Director, said that they have no way of knowing if the amnesty bill has resulted in more young adults being admitted because of alcohol.

“We do not track patient visits to [the Hospital] as being ‘alcohol-related,’” Zeller said in an email. “So I don’t have any real trends that I can provide.”

Moll said that in researching the bill, the Senate found that there are very few non-vehicle related student alcohol deaths across the state, but anything that can be done to minimize even those deaths is a productive use of state power.

“Its really common sense legislation,” Moll said. “You can tell just from the voting numbers everyone was on the same page.”