Bill Toughening Connecticut Drunk Boating Law Advances

A key legislative committee has advanced a bill that would make Connecticut’s drunken boating law conform with state drunken driving legislation.

The Joint Judiciary Committee passed a bill Monday that eliminates the two-hour limit for testing a suspected drunken boater.

The bill stems from a 2007 incident on the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook, when a runaway powerboat slammed into a sailboat, killing a South Windsor woman.

Sen. Ed Meyer says a blood alcohol test for the power boat driver was not admissible as evidence because it was taken two hours and ten minutes after the incident.

The driver pleaded no contest to second-degree manslaughter but wasn’t prosecuted for boating under the influence, even though tests showed he was above the legal limit.

The bill moves to the Senate.