New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Connecticut open container ban fails to gain support — again
HARTFORD — In what has become a nearly annual rite of spring in the General Assembly, legislation that would have banned open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles ran into bipartisan opposition and failed again Thursday night when it was removed from a larger state Department of Transportation bill.
While the issue could still come up in another bill before the midnight May 4 adjournment of the General Assembly, it is most likely to join the proposed mandatory motorcycle helmet law on the side of the legislative road.
State Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, cochairman of the Transportation Committee, admitted the bill didn’t have enough support, leaving Connecticut among a handful of states that still allow open containers in vehicles.
“This bill has received a lot of talk due to a provision that is in it right now, which would bar the open containers in the cabin of all passenger vehicles,” Lemar said with a wry smile to his House colleagues. But he stressed that because of the state’s failure to ban open containers, federal funds that would have gone to road construction, instead have been invested in educational campaigns, including road signage and police overtime for drunkendriving checkpoints.
Since it was introduced in 1989, the provision has been defeated by various arguments in the legislature, from University of Connecticut fans balking at the possibility of breaking the law during in-car tailgate parties in inclement weather, to minority lawmakers fearful of police using the law to racially profile drivers and passengers in parked cars on city blocks who might be drinking a beer.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Connecticut, Delaware, Missouri, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Mississippi and Virginia are the only states that allow open containers in vehicles. Mississippi allows drivers to consume alcohol while behind the wheel.
“And as I can count to the handful of states that allow open containers, and I can count all the way up to $132 million, the number of dollars we have lost over the last 20 years, I can also count to 76,” Lemar said, the magic number needed to pass a bill in the 151member House. “Since I can count to 76, Mr. Speaker, the clerk is in possession of an amendment.”
The bill, which passed 147-3 after Lemar’s amendment was accepted, heads to the Senate for final approval and includes provisions to allow blood transport vehicles to use highoccupancy-vehicle lanes; allow big trucks to use a driving tactic called platooning, in which they follow closely behind each other to save fuel; and for the DOT to create a transit app.