As people all over Pennsylvania ushered in 2013 Tuesday morning, several new laws hit the books.
Starting this year, more school employees must be formally trained on how to recognize the warning signs of child abuse and when they are obligated to report it.
“There’s all kinds of stuff going on in the world. So if it’s one more set of eyes that can intervene and help save a kid, I think that’s a good idea,” said Greg Tomevi, a teacher at York County Vo-Tech.
The state put together a task force on child protection after the Jerry Sandusky case put the spotlight on child abuse in Pennsylvania. They spent the last year putting together a long list of recommendations for the state.
Kids who are caught drinking underage will now be in even more trouble thanks to another law that went into effect Christmas Eve. It raises the fine for underage drinking to $1,000. The former penalty was $300 for the first offense and $500 for the second.
While some people are not very confident in how effective the law will be, others feel anything to curb underage drinking will help.
“Kids are going to drink underage no matter what. The greater the risk, the greater the thrill,” said York resident Ben Letvin.
“I don’t know if that’ll stop underage drinking. They probably need to do a lot more, checkpoints and things like that, but stiffer fines will surely help I think,” said Rochanne Johnson, who supports the steeper fines.
Read more here from The Morning Call.
