Lake Lanier Caucus meets in Gainesville, Buford Saturday

UNDATED -- The Lake Lanier Legislative Caucus will meet twice Saturday. The first will be held from 10:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. at the Gainesville Civic Center, 830 Green Street. The second is set for 1-2:30 p.m. at Buford City Hall 2300 Buford Highway.<br /> <br /> The 12-member caucus, made up of state senators and representatives whose districts are on Lake Lanier, is looking for ways to make the lake safer.. Both meetings are open to the public.<br /> <br /> The group met in Cumming last week and listened as various organizations made recommendations ranging from incentives for attending safety classes, increasing the age limit for life vest requirements and tougher punishment for boating under the influence violations.<br /> <br /> Georgia is one of only a handful of states where it is legal to operate a boat with a blood alcohol content above .08<br /> <br /> Col. Eddie Henderson of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Law Enforcement Section recommends lowering the standard to .08. In fact, DNR officials say they want the laws that pertain to cars to also apply to boats.<br /> <br /> Chuck Spahos, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorney Council of Georgia, agreed. <br /> <br /> "If you're not allowed to drive in a car, you should not be allowed to operate a boat," he said, Spahos' also said boats should be titled. In most situations on the lake authorities can't even readily identify who the boat belongs to Spahos added.<br /> <br /> <br />

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