§661.1. Operating a watercraft under the influence of alcoholic beverages or controlled
dangerous substances; implied consent to chemical tests; administering of test and
presumptions
A.(1) Any person, regardless of age, who operates a motor powered watercraft upon
the public navigable waterways of this state shall be deemed to have given consent, subject
to the provisions of R.S. 32:662, to a chemical test or tests of his blood, breath, urine, or
other bodily substance for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of his blood and
the presence of any drug in his blood if arrested for any offense arising out of acts alleged to
have been committed while the person was driving or in actual physical control of a motor
powered watercraft, while believed to be under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any
drug, combination of drugs, or combination of alcohol and drugs.
(2) The test or tests shall be administered at the direction of a law enforcement
officer having reasonable grounds to believe the person, regardless of age, to have been
driving or in actual physical control of a motor powered watercraft upon the public navigable
waterways of this state while under the influence of either alcoholic beverages, any drug,
combination of drugs, or combination of alcohol and drugs. The law enforcement agency
by which such officer is employed shall designate which of the aforesaid tests shall be
administered.
B. Any person who is dead, unconscious, or otherwise in a condition rendering him
incapable of refusal or who has been involved in an accident involving bodily injury or death
shall be deemed not to have withdrawn the consent provided by Subsection A of this Section,
and the test or tests may be administered subject to the provisions of R.S. 32:662.
C.(1) When a law enforcement officer requests that a person submit to a chemical
test as provided for in this Section, he shall first read to the person a standardized form
approved by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The department is authorized
to use such language in the form as it, in its sole discretion, deems proper, provided that the
form does inform the person of the following:
(a) His constitutional rights under Miranda v. Arizona and subsequent applicable
jurisprudence.
(b) That his driving privileges can be suspended for refusing to submit to the
chemical test.
(c) That his driving privileges can be suspended if he submits to the chemical test
and such test results show a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or above or, if he is under
the age of twenty-one years, a blood alcohol level of 0.02 percent or above.
(d) The name and employing agency of all law enforcement officers involved in the
stop, detention, investigation, or arrest of the person.
(2) In addition, the law enforcement officer, after reading the form, shall request the
arrested person to sign the form. If the person is unable or unwilling to sign, the officer shall
certify that the arrestee was advised of the information contained in the form and that the
person was unable to sign or refused to sign.
D. For purposes of this Section, "public navigable waterways" means any waters
within the territorial limits of this state and the marginal sea adjacent to the state and the high
seas when navigated as a part of a journey or ride to or from the shore of this state but shall
not include privately owned water bodies with no ingress or egress to public waters.
Added by Acts 1983, No. 631, §1. Acts 1987, No. 338, §1; Acts 1989, No. 661, §1,
eff. July 7, 1989; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 20, §2; Acts 1997, No. 1296, §3, eff. July 15,
1997; Acts 1997, No. 1297, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 781, §4, eff. Sept. 30,
2003; Acts 2004, No. 752, §1; Acts 2024, No. 662, §2.
NOTE: Section 6 of Acts 2001, No. 781, provides that the provisions of the
Act shall become null and of no effect if and when Section 351 of P.L. 106-346 regarding the withholding of federal highway funds for failure to enact
a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level is repealed or invalidated for any reason.