What the Law Changes
- A DUI conviction may result in suspension of a Safe Boating Certificate.
- A BUI conviction may result in suspension of a Connecticut driver’s license.
Why the Change Was Proposed
Existing BUI Penalties Still Apply
Enforcement in 2026
What This Means for Boaters
More on boating Candlewood: the AIS stamp most boaters missed, registration timing and the key 2026 dates, and why clean, drain, dry actually matters here.
What the statute says, in its own words
The operating rule is Connecticut General Statutes section 15-133(d): "No person shall operate a vessel: (1) While under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, or both, or (2) while such person has an elevated blood alcohol content," which the section defines as "eight-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight," or two-hundredths of one percent for a person under twenty-one. The same subsection defines "operate" as a vessel that "is underway or aground and not moored, anchored or docked," so a boat rafted up at anchor is not being operated under this section and a boat drifting off the sandbar is.
The penalties are in subsection (h). For a first conviction: a fine of "not less than five hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars," imprisonment of up to six months with forty-eight consecutive hours that "may not be suspended or reduced," or a suspended sentence with probation and one hundred hours of community service, and suspension of the safe boating certificate, personal watercraft certificate or right to operate for one year. A second conviction within ten years carries a fine of one thousand to four thousand dollars, up to two years with one hundred twenty consecutive days mandatory, and a three year certificate suspension or until the person's twenty-first birthday, whichever is longer. A third conviction within ten years carries two thousand to eight thousand dollars, up to three years with one year mandatory, and permanent revocation of the certificate. Subsection (i) says the suspension takes effect when the appeal period expires and the certificate must be returned within two business days.
What Public Act 25-159 added, and when
Public Act 25-159, Substitute House Bill 7160, is a 96 page motor vehicle omnibus whose title includes "penalties for operating a motor vehicle and vessel while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug." Its boating sections do three things, in the act's own language. First, each tier of the section 15-133 penalty now also reaches the driver's license: for a second conviction the person shall "have such person's motor vehicle operator's license or nonresident operating privilege" suspended, and for a third, "permanently revoked in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (C)(i) of subdivision (3) of subsection (g) of section 14-227a." Second, the two agencies now report to each other: when a boating suspension is pending, "the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall mail or electronically transmit notice of such pending action, together with personal identifying information for such person, to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles," and when a driver's license is suspended for driving under the influence, the Motor Vehicles commissioner sends the notice to DEEP, "who shall suspend the safe boating certificate." Third, DEEP "shall not issue a safe boating certificate or temporary safe boating certificate to any person whose motor vehicle operator's license or nonresident operating privilege is suspended or revoked" for a driving under the influence violation, and the Motor Vehicles side carries the mirror rule for a boating suspension. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's July 2, 2026 release puts the effective date plainly: "Effective October 1, 2025, Public Act 25-159 established reciprocal suspension penalties for BUI and Driving Under the Influence, meaning actions on the water can affect your privilege to drive on the road."
How it was enforced in summer 2026
That same release announced that DEEP's Environmental Conservation Police would "again participate in the 'Operation Dry Water' campaign," running July 3 through July 5, 2026, a "heightened enforcement and awareness campaign" targeting alcohol or drug use while operating a vessel, and it repeated the threshold: "it is illegal to operate a vessel with blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or higher." On Candlewood, the Candlewood Lake Authority's Marine Patrol enforces the state's boating laws alongside those officers.
The other 2026 boating law
The General Assembly also passed House Bill 5332 in the 2026 session, signed by the Governor on May 15, 2026 as Public Act 26-60. The Office of Legislative Research's analysis of the bill as amended describes it raising the fines for abandoning a boat from a range of $300 to $500 to a range of $750 to $1,000, allowing state and municipal law enforcement to recover removal and remediation costs from the person who abandoned it, adding a requirement for contact information on boats, and changing the motorboat rules on Wyassup Lake. It does not touch the impaired operation sections above; read the act itself on the General Assembly's site before relying on any detail.
Sources for these sections: Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 268, section 15-133 (subsections (d), (h) and (i)), current text on cga.ct.gov. Public Act 25-159, Substitute House Bill 7160, sections amending sections 15-133, 15-140q and 14-227a and the safe boating certificate issuance rules, text on cga.ct.gov. DEEP news release, July 2, 2026, "DEEP Announces Operation Dry Water Campaign to Halt Boating Under the Influence." Connecticut General Assembly bill status for HB 5332 (Public Act 26-60, signed May 15, 2026) and the OLR bill analysis dated May 5, 2026. Statute text is quoted as published in September 2026; confirm the current text before relying on any figure.
Update, September 2026: the four bills the lake's own agency was watching
The statutes above are what passed. The Candlewood Lake Authority's 2026 board minutes show what the agency that patrols this lake was pushing for, which is a useful read on where boating rules here are heading. On March 11, 2026 its executive director gave the board "an update on four pieces of legislation we are following: wake surfing, unlicensed PWC operation, bow riding and rapid response for invasive plants," adding that "We are waiting for the draft legislation and if we decide to provide any testimony it will be brought back to the Board for approval." Note what is on that list and is not in the statutes above: wake surfing and a rapid response mechanism for invasive plants. On April 8 the Authority recorded a meeting with the state in Hartford where "Public awareness and communication were discussed regarding BUI which is now linked to DUI," which is the same linkage described earlier on this page, reported independently by the lake's own agency. That meeting also covered "The limitations in the MOA and the limitations of the LPOs in enforcing certain types of laws," a reminder that on Candlewood the officer who stops you may be a local patrol officer whose authority is set by an agreement, not a state trooper. By August 12 the Authority's public safety chair was reporting to the board on "new PWC legislation, bow riding legislation, contact information requirement on all vessels." The minutes never record which bills became law, so treat the list as direction of travel and check the current statute before you rely on any of it. Every set prints that it is "not considered official until they have been approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Candlewood Lake Authority."
Who would actually stop you for any of it, and how many of them are on the water, is set out in who patrols Candlewood Lake.
Common questions about Connecticut's 2026 BUI law
What actually changed in Connecticut's BUI law?
Public Act No. 25-159, passed by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2025 and effective October 1, 2025, made DUI and BUI penalties reciprocal. Under the updated statute a DUI conviction may result in suspension of a Safe Boating Certificate, and a BUI conviction may result in suspension of a Connecticut driver's license. Lawmakers described the change as closing a gap between land and water enforcement, where a conviction in one setting previously had no bearing on privileges in the other.
Can a car DUI really cost me my boating privileges?
Yes, and that reciprocity is the whole point of the act. A DUI conviction may result in suspension of your Safe Boating Certificate. Before this change, a conviction on the road and a conviction on the water were handled as separate matters with separate consequences. Beginning with the 2026 boating season, enforcement agencies including the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of Motor Vehicles coordinate suspensions under the new framework.
What is the legal limit on the water in Connecticut?
The same 0.08 percent that applies on the road. A person operating a vessel with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher, or who is otherwise impaired by alcohol or drugs, may face fines, jail time and suspension of boating privileges under Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 15-133. Those existing penalties did not go away when the new act passed. The 2025 change added consequences on top of them rather than replacing them.
Why was the law changed?
In early 2025, lawmakers discussed strengthening impaired operation enforcement following serious boating incidents, including a fatal crash in Old Saybrook. The stated goal of the updated law is to ensure that impaired operation carries consequences across both roadways and waterways, rather than being treated as two unconnected systems with separate records.
What does this mean practically for a Candlewood boater?
Impaired operation now carries broader consequences in both directions, so a DUI conviction can affect boating privileges and a BUI conviction can affect driving privileges. On a lake like Candlewood, which draws heavy weekend traffic from across Connecticut and New York and is patrolled by the Candlewood Lake Authority Marine Patrol alongside DEEP EnCon Police, the practical point is that the agencies on the water and the agency that issues your driver's license are now coordinating rather than working in isolation.
Connor Kostyra, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, CT Lic. RES.0836348.
Connor CT Homes is a marketing brand. Real estate services are provided through RE/MAX Rise, 1297 Main Street, Watertown, CT 06795.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Details change; confirm current facts with the town, the community and the relevant agency before relying on anything here.
