Drunken boating law would lower blood alcohol standard

DES MOINES – Iowans consuming alcohol while operating a boat would be subject to a tougher drunken-boating standard the same as drivers of motor vehicles on Iowa highways under a bill that sailed through the Iowa Senate on Wednesday.

By a 40-9 vote, senators approved Senate File 7, a measure that lowers the blood alcohol content threshold by which boat operators are considered to be above the legal limit for intoxication from .10 percent to .08 percent for anyone operating a motorboat or sailboat on a waterway in Iowa, including private farm ponds. The .08 percent BAC is the same as the current standard for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

“You have to understand boats can go 50, 60 miles an hour and they have no brakes,” said Sen. Dick Dearden, D-Des Moines, the bill's Senate floor manager. “To me, it is much more important that we have the same alcohol content for those operating boats as we do vehicles. I hope we can get this through here and through the House and avoid a tragedy.”

The Senate previously has approved the lower blood alcohol standard for drunken boating only to see the measure stall in the House. Proponents are hopeful this session could produce a different result with Republicans now holding a 60-40 edge in the House with 29 new members.

“It's time has come,” said Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, a boating enthusiast who admitted he was embarrassed that the measure has not won the support of his fellow representatives.

“I think this is in the best public interest. I think this law would not only make enforcement better, I think it would make the waterways safer,” he said. “If you're over .08, you're not watching that skier behind you, (and) you're not necessarily seeing those swimmers that might have strayed a little far from the shore. There is no one in Iowa that has any business, in my opinion, having a blood alcohol content of more than .08. I don't care if you're trolling, if you're planing, or if you're going 40 mph, this is the right thing to do for public safety.”

However, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, a former county prosecutor, said while drunken driving has a complicated set of implied consent procedures and definitions for what constitutes operation, there is none of that for operating a boat while intoxicated. Also, he said, state Department of Natural Resources water-safety officers are not authorized to conduct breath tests so they have to hold an alleged violator until a street officer can arrive to administer a test.

“We not only have to be tough on crime, but smart on crime,” said McCarthy, who planned to push for amendments to S.F. 7 to make it more workable and avoid unintended consequences.

Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, who voted against a similar measure last year, said DNR officials contend the change will save lives and reduce boating accidents but he had seen no supporting data.

“If I had my druthers, I would probably revisit the current law but this bill really didn't give you the opportunity to do that,” said Bartz, who noted there are more pressing issues facing lawmakers so he chose not to file amendments seeking to improve the measure. “In some respects, this is a small fish in a big pond. I voiced my displeasure with it by voting no. I frankly was surprised that there were more people that joined me this time because I was in the vote alone club on this last year.”

Sen. Steve Kettering, R-Lake View, said he voted for the measure before but studied it closer and same to a different conclusion this year.

Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, said he believed the measure “has the best chance it's ever had” of making it to Gov. Terry Branstad's desk. He said a House subcommittee was slated to take up the issue as early as Thursday.

A first-time conviction for operating a boat while intoxicated currently is a serious misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to 48 hours in jail, a fine of up to $1,000 plus $100 in court costs and a prohibition on operating a watercraft for up to one year. The penalties escalate to up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $7,500 and up to six years being barred from operating for a third, felony conviction.

Joining Bartz and Kettering in opposing the bill were Sens. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, and GOP Sens. Bill Anderson of Sioux City, Rick Bertrand of Sioux City, Bill Dix of Shell Rock, Tim Kapucian of Keystone, Kent Sorenson of Indianola and Brad Zaun of Urbandale.