Deal signs boating safety bill

BUFORD - Governor Nathan Deal Tuesday at Lake Lanier signed a measure to make boating safer on Georgia's lakes.

At the Holiday Marina Pavilion, with the families of Kyle Glover and Jake and Griffin Prince in the audience, the Governor signed Senate Bill 136, the measure named for them, into law. The bill honors the memory of the Prince Brothers, killed in a B.U.I boating crash last summer as well as Kyle Glover, the stepson of R&B artist Usher who died in a personal watercraft collision.

The law requires children 13 and under to wear life jackets when riding in an open, moving boat, and places age limits and education requirements on young water craft operators. The law also sets the boating under the influence alcohol limit at .08 instead of .10. Georgia had been one of eight states with a higher blood-alcohol limit for boating.

"If you are too drunk to drive a car you're too drunk to drive a boat," The Governor said. "With the signing of this legislation we'll make those standards for driving, boating and hunting uniform at .08 alcohol content."

State Senator Butch Miller of Gainesville authored the bill and said it got wide legislative support.

"We're delighted that the law passed the State Senate by a unanimous vote and passed the House of Representatives by a tremendous margin," Miller said.

Sgt. Lee Brown was one of the DNR officers who helped recover the body of Griffin Prince last June.

"We're hoping with the signing of this bill it can help reduce those kinds of tragedies that happen on the waterways in the State of Georgia," Brown said.

The Governor expressed his condolences and those of all Georgians to Tomeka Raymond, Kyle Glover's mother, and members of the Prince family. Mrs.Raymond said she wants her son remembered in a special way that will benefit other children.

"I've started a foundation in his honor called "Kyle's World Foundation," she said. "The focus of Kyle's World is performing arts, fine arts and applied arts. We are trying to reach children that are underprivileged or in underserved communities to give them access to fine arts, and performing and applied arts. The foundation website is kylesworld.org."

Mrs. Prince said the new law reached out to her family just like their many friends have since the tragedy occurred and it was an honor to have her sons memorialized by the legislation bearing their names.

"They've really taken care of us and been there for us," she said. "We have really amazing friends and an amazing community."

"Today I will sign Senate Bill 136 because I believe it will save lives," Governor Deal said. "I sign this bill for all the Kyles, all the Jakes, and all the Griffins of our state."

The Associated Press contributed to this story