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With the Fourth of July holiday heralding the height of summer, a new law going into effect this past Saturday, boaters on Tennessee’s lakes are now subject to stricter boating-under-the-influence laws.

As the calendar turned to July, BUI penalties became aligned with DUI laws in terms of jail time, fines, and loss of boat-operating privileges. The new law additionally clarifies that officers can seek search warrants to obtain blood evidence from those who refuse to follow the implied-consent section of the law.

A Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency press release said that alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boater deaths. Sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion intensify the effects of alcohol, drugs and some medications, the press release said.

Operating a boat with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or higher is illegal in Tennessee, the same as operating a motor vehicle. Penalties may include fines, jail time, boat impoundment and the loss of boat-driving privileges, the press release said.

TWRA Wildlife Sgt. Josh Hunt said the more-strict law’s intent is to promote safety, and he believes the objective is on the right track.

“I hope it will make a difference and people will take it a little more seriously,” he said, then referring to Tims Ford Lake. “We haven’t had as many issues here as on other lakes, and we want to keep it that way.”

Hunt, who is tasked with enforcing the boating laws, said the difference now is that BUI charges are “stackable” with DUI charges.

He explained that if an operator were to be charged with a BUI, then later charged with a DUI, the latter will be included as a second offense.

Previously, the boating charges were handled separately from the driving infractions.

Scott Smith, Franklin County Emergency Management Agency director, echoed Hunt’s assessment about the new law.

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” he said. “Anything that helps enforcement on the water is a good thing.

“Alcohol on the water has a large impact on accidents and tragic events, whether it’s boating or swimming from shore. I’m for anything that makes it safer. Alcohol affects judgment and the decisions that are made that lead to tragic events.”

Hunt said the TWRA was participating in Operation Dry Water, a national water-safety campaign, which ran from Saturday through Monday. Operation Dry Water is a three-day period of enforcement and education about the dangers of impaired boating.

The July 4 holiday means an increase in boater activity, and the TWRA was on heightened alert for boating-under-the-influence infractions during that time, Hunt said.

Over the course of the Fourth of July holiday period, law enforcement officers were also working to increase public awareness of the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, for operators and passengers.

Boaters will notice an overall increase in officer patrols on the water, Hunt said, adding that the combined efforts of the participating law enforcement agencies will result in the removal of impaired operators from the state’s waterways, providing a safe and enjoyable experience for boaters.

TWRA Lt. Col. Matt Majors of the Boating and Law Enforcement Division explained his thoughts in a press release.

“Impaired operation is a 100 percent preventable crime that our wildlife officers take seriously each time they patrol our waterways,” he said. “There will be no warnings given. If you are found to be operating a vessel impaired by our officers, you will go to jail.”

To support the enforcement and education initiative, the TWRA is partnering with the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Operation Dry Water was started by the NASBLA in 2009 and has been a highly successful campaign drawing public attention to the dangers of boating under the influence, the press release said.

While the boating-under-the-influence law is the most talked about legal change that went into effect on Saturday, Tennessee has a number of other law changes taking place.

Some of them, according to a WKRN report, include:

• Garrison-Jordan Survivor Benefits Act. This law generally increases the death benefits in workers’ compensation claims from 66.67 percent of the deceased’s average weekly wage to 75 percent, up to 100 percent of the state’s average weekly wage and makes other specific changes to current laws concerning death benefits in workers’ compensation claims.
• Dillard’s Law. This law allows the surviving parent or guardian of a child whose parent was a victim of vehicular homicide to convert a restitution order for child-maintenance payments to a civil judgment at any time rather than following the conclusion of the defendant’s sentence.
• Booting Consumer Protection Act. This law prohibits a person from knowingly installing a vehicle-immobilization device — also called a boot — on a motor vehicle parked on private property in the state. A violation of this law is a Class B misdemeanor. The law also requires any business that places boots on cars to accept debit and credit cards as a method of payment for the boot removal. Additionally, someone in the business of installing boots will be prohibited from contracting the work of installing or removing out or compensating employees on commission.
• Silas Gable Flatt Law. This law makes it an offense for someone to knowingly provide a motor vehicle to someone under the influence of any intoxicant or whose driver’s license has been suspended or revoked under certain circumstances. Anybody who does so would be committing a Class A misdemeanor. A first offense would warrant a minimum of 48 hours of incarceration; a second offense would receive 72 hours minimum incarceration; and a third violation would require at least seven days of incarceration.
• Immunity from prosecution from drug overdose. This law states a person experiencing an overdose shall be granted immunity from arrest, charging and prosecution on their first and subsequent overdoses “at the discretion of the responding law enforcement officer or the district attorney general’s office.”
• Penalties for text and telephone solicitations. This law stipulates that in addition to phone-call solicitations, text messages from solicitors may not be made between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m Solicitors cannot knowingly use “any method to block or otherwise circumvent” a residential subscriber’s use of caller ID, they cannot contact those on the Do Not Call Register, they must pay $500 annually to defray regulatory and enforcement expenses, and a solicitor who violates any of those provisions is subject to a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation. The previous law only applied to telephone calls.
• Tennessee Higher Education Freedom of Expression and Transparency Act. This law prohibits institutions of higher education from showing bias or favoritism for or against student groups peacefully protesting, guest speakers’ points of view or a student group who requests a guest speaker to come to that institution. Additionally, the school will be prohibited from requiring students to pay fees or security deposits that are not charged to all other student groups or deny any student group access to school property if that property is typically used for similar purposes. Further, the law states universities are prohibited from requiring applicants for employment or admission to “submit a personal diversity statement” or to agree with an “institutional diversity statement” as part of the application or admissions process. Finally, the law states that universities shall not use state funds, fees, dues or other money for meetings, membership or activities of any organization “if participation in such organization requires an individual or an individual’s employer to endorse or promote a divisive concept.”
• Prohibits sale of tattoo or piercing materials for minors. As enacted, this law would prohibit the sale or distribution of tattoo and body-piercing paraphernalia to minors. Such sale or distribution would be a Class A misdemeanor. The bill also requires a person engaged in the sale or distribution of tattoo and body-piercing paraphernalia to demand proof of age from a potential purchaser or obtain proof of age if the sale/distribution occurs through the mail. If a minor buys the materials, they will be subject to a $50 fine.
• Jabari Bailey Highway Safety Act. This law increases the penalties for those who fail to move out of the way of stopped law enforcement vehicles on roadsides. Specifically, the bill changes the language of the state law to include any “stationary vehicle,” while before it was limited to emergency vehicles. From now on, Tennessee drivers will be required by law to move over or slow down when passing any stationary vehicle that has its flashing hazard lights activated, including civilian, maintenance, emergency or law enforcement vehicles.