The guilty plea last week from an Onondaga County man in connection with a fatal boating crash on Skaneateles Lake last summer may have brought some closure to the families affected by that tragedy.

But we hope the case opens further action in Albany regarding the state's boating safety laws, particularly as they pertain to boating while intoxicated.

While some measures have been signed into law in recent years to help protect innocent people enjoying New York's bounty of lakes and rivers, there's still plenty of worthwhile legislation that continues to die in the statehouse, particularly in the Assembly.

Two bills that have made their way through the Senate deserve immediate attention.

One toughens the penalties for reckless operation of a boat and for boating while intoxicated. First-time offenders convicted of reckless operation of a boat would face three to 12 months of suspension before they are legally able to drive a boat again. Second-time offenders would receive a mandatory six to 12 month suspense, and possible six to 12-month suspension of water vehicle registration. And operators convicted of boating while intoxicated would lose boating privileges and their vessel registration for six to 12 months. Currently, the maximum penalty for boaters who operate a vessel while intoxicated or act recklessly is three to six months of suspension of boating privileges and/or vessel registration.

Perhaps more importantly than that legislation, though, is a bill that proposes bringing all alcohol-related driving infractions together when it comes to increased penalties for repeat offenders. In other words, a person with a conviction for driving a car while intoxicated would have that offense counted as part of the record when it comes to sentencing for a boating or snowmobiling while intoxicated infraction.

Under the state's current law, a person with a long list of past automobile DWIs can still drive a boat on our state's waterways as if they had a clean slate.

If lawmakers want to make a difference in the effort to decrease these tragedies, it's time to start looking at the water and boating just as we view automobiles and highways.