NC lawmakers create new penalties for impaired boat drivers

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The North Carolina General Assembly is tightening penalties for boat operators who are driving under the influence, a bill prompted after a teenager was killed by a drunken boat driver last summer.

The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to create penalties for impaired boat drivers who unintentionally kill or injure someone similar to the punishment drivers on the road would receive.

The proposal would make death by impaired boating a class of felony punishable by a minimum of little more than three years in prison.

Under current law, the penalty for driving a boat while impaired is misdemeanor with a minimum $250 fine.

The bill will now be sent to Gov. Pat McCrory who has 10 days to act on it.

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