The Mining Journal supports legislation that Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law early last week, toughening the legal threshold for intoxication for snowmobilers and boaters.

The bill, which enjoyed bi-partisan support in both houses of the Michigan Legislature, changed from .10 to .08 the amount of alcohol permissible in the system of a boater or snowmobiler.

“It is vital to keep our waterways and other recreational areas safe for all Michiganders,” Snyder said in a statement included in Associated Press coverage of the issue.

We couldn’t agree more.

AP reported that the House in 2003 and 2005 voted overwhelmingly to make the limit 0.08 for all vehicle users, but the legislation died in the Senate, apparently in part because critics felt the only reason the blood alcohol limit for drunken driving had been lowered was because the state faced the loss of federal funding.

Rep. Matt Lori, a Constantine Republican who sponsored two of the four bills, said he was “elated” that the package got to Snyder’s desk, stated AP.

There was never a good reason, politics aside, that this action wasn’t taken before. We were glad to see the governor and Legislature rectify this.