The Maryland General Assembly is considering passing two laws related to AACC.
Nick’s Law aims to prohibit someone who is convicted of operating a boat while under the influence from operating a boat again for two years—up to five years if someone died in an accident.
“I don’t want to, like, prevent people from having a good time on the water,” Sen. Dawn Gile, a Democrat who represents Anne Arundel County, said. “But the point is to do it safely. And if you’re going to be operating a vessel, that you know how to make sure that you’re doing this safely.”
The bill also aims to create a database of drivers who are charged with operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol, and to increase potential fines and sentences for those convicted of driving a boat while drunk.
The bill is named after Nick Barton, a former AACC lacrosse player who died when the boat he was riding in crashed. The boat’s operator, Shayne Kenneth Smith, who was reportedly drunk, was convicted of negligent manslaughter by boat.
The bill was drafted after Barton’s mother expressed frustration over the laws surrounding drunk driving.
According to Gile, one of the bill’s sponsors, the laws for operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol do not work the same as when someone is charged for driving a car while drunk.
“One thing that we learned was that similar to a DUI, you can have your boating privileges suspended if you get [arrested for] boating while intoxicated,” Gile said. “The problem is, is that if your boating privileges are suspended, your boater safety card, which gives you the permission to operate a vehicle, doesn’t work the same as a driver’s license. There’s no mechanism to take away that privilege.”
Another bill would add two members to AACC’s eight-member Board of Trustees.
The bill would require the governor “to consider the geographic and ethnic representation of Anne Arundel County when making appointments to the board.”
Maryland’s governor appoints trustees to the board, which votes on decisions that affect the college.
Spencer Dixon, Gile’s legislative director, said the bill is meant to lighten the workload and diversify the membership of the board.
“It has become clear that the workload requires additional members,” Dixon said.
Dixon added that having a more diverse board reflects the college community better.
“It also speaks to the will of the Anne Arundel County delegation that diversity is a strength and the opposite of that, where we aren’t hearing diverse voices or hearing from diverse perspectives, can mean that any entity or organization isn’t living up to its fullest potential, including the Board of Trustees,” Dixon said. “We believe it was important to ensure as much as possible that people from around the county are on the board, people from different races, ethnicities that reflects the county are on the board.”
If the bill passes both chambers, it will be effective July 1.
