Panel Passes Bill On Drunken Snowmobiling

Tue., March 16, 1999

Rep. Jim Clark’s bill to punish drunken snowmobilers the same as drunken drivers cleared a Senate committee on Monday, although one senator warned that it takes the state “from one extreme to another.”

Drunken snowmobiling now is just an infraction, similar to a traffic ticket. Under Clark’s bill, House Bill 55, it would be a misdemeanor on the first offense, and a felony on the third, complete with prison time.

Drunken snowmobilers also could face losing their driver’s licenses, even though a driver’s license isn’t required to operate a snowmobile. “This is very far-reaching,” Sen. Sheila Sorensen, R-Boise, said. She said it would be wiser to just increase the penalty for drunken snowmobiling to a misdemeanor.

Sen. Robbi King, R-Glenns Ferry, said Idaho a few years ago brought drunken boating under the same laws as drunken driving, and she thought the same move was appropriate for snowmobiling.

The Senate Judiciary Committee then voted 7-1 to approve the bill proposed by Clark, R-Hayden, which already has passed the House. It now goes to the full Senate for a vote. If it passes there and the governor signs it, it will become law.

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Panel Passes Bill On Drunken Snowmobiling

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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