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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mike Hanna |
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Hanna to introduce boating DUI legislation
HARRISBURG, Aug. 24 – State Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Clinton/Centre, said he will introduce a package of bills that would make a DUI while operating a watercraft carry the same penalty as a DUI in an automobile and provide for sentencing enhancements.
Currently, Pennsylvania law classifies a DUI in a watercraft as a third-degree felony.
Hanna said H.B. 2667 would make a DUI while operating a watercraft, or any type of vehicle (plane, train, ATV, etc.) carry the same penalty as a DUI in an automobile. House Bill 2668 would establish sentencing enhancements for prior DUI offenses regardless of the type of vehicle they occurred in, and would increase conviction times for DUI crimes that kill children under 15, raising the offense to a second-degree felony. His legislation would also go a step further by prohibiting any individual who is convicted of a DUI with a watercraft from owning or registering a boat in Pennsylvania.
"All crimes are terrible, but those committed against our children 15 years and under are even more horrific and should carry increased penalties," Hanna said. "Penalty enhancements are good and will serve as a deterrent, but one way to prevent this type of crime is to prohibit individuals convicted of DUI with a watercraft from owning or registering a boat in Pennsylvania. The reason for this is that in these cases, we do not have the ability to take away their driver's license because one does not need a driver's license to own or operate most watercraft."
Hanna said the problem in current law arose when a 12-year-old girl was killed on the Susquehanna River in Clinton County as the result of a boating accident. The operator of the boat that killed her entered a plea to DUI, and due to the penalties currently outlined in Pennsylvania law, the maximum time he could spend incarcerated for this offense was 7 years. Hanna said there has been an outcry for action in the surrounding community.
"I have met with Clinton County District Attorney Michael Salisbury and discussed his concerns, as well as the community's regarding the differences in the penalty for driving under the influence while operating a watercraft versus operating an automobile," Hanna said. "The fact remains that under current Pennsylvania law, prior convictions for a DUI are not considered during sentencing if they don't involve the same type of vehicle.
"I wholeheartedly agree with Attorney Salisbury that this is an inequity in the law and needs to be changed," he added. "It is simply not right that a person who is convicted of DUI and kills someone should face less incarceration simply because they did so behind the wheel of a boat rather than behind the wheel of a car."
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