Student-backed bill to expand Indiana Lifeline Law advances

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Concerns about a potential rough ride for a proposed expansion of Indiana’s Lifeline Law – a bill being pushed hard by a coalition of statewide university student leaders led by those at Purdue – were dispelled quickly Tuesday, when Sen. Aaron Freeman, chair of the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law committee, announced ahead of a hearing that morning that the bill would pass.

State Sen. Ron Alting, a Lafayette Republican and author of Senate Bill 74, said he’d never been given that sort of assurance ahead of a hearing and joked about just stepping aside and letting it happen.

The Lifeline Law, approved in 2012, gives immunity against prosecution for underage drinking when someone younger than 21 makes a call for medical help and sticks around when someone else drinks too much alcohol. SB 74 would update the law’s protection from criminal prosecution to the person who needs medical attention, too.

Similar efforts failed in 2016, 2019 and 2020, Jim Merritt, a former state senator who sponsored the initial Indiana Lifeline Law legislation, told Purdue Student Government leaders a few months ago during a discussion in Pfendler Hall.

Jason Packard and Rebecca Siener, Purdue’s student body president and vice president, testified Tuesday morning that the current law leaves room for indecision in the choice of whether to call for help if it means the person in medical need might face punishment.