SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s governor announced Thursday that he will sign legislation giving the predominantly Mormon state the strictest DUI threshold in the country, a change that restaurant groups and representatives of the ski and snowboard industry say will hurt tourism.
Republican Governor Gary Herbert said he plans to approve the measure lowering the blood alcohol limit for most drivers to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent and that it will save lives.
Opponents had urged him to veto the bill, saying it would punish responsible drinkers and burnish Utah’s reputation as a Mormon-majority state that’s unfriendly for those who drink alcohol.
‘‘People are going to try to say this is a religious issue. And that is just absolutely false. This is a public safety issue,’’ the governor, who is Mormon, said at a news conference.
Proponents say it will send a resounding message that people should not drink and drive — no matter how little somebody has had to drink.
Restaurant groups said they don’t support drunken driving but a 0.05 limit won’t catch drivers who are actually impaired.
Representative Norm Thurston, a Republican who sponsored the measure, says it will make people think twice about drinking and driving.
If drivers are not impaired, they won’t violate the law, Thurston said, because police won’t measure someone’s blood alcohol level until they have seen visible signs of impairment and the person fails a field sobriety test.
He has also pointed out that Utah led the country in 1983 by becoming the first state to lower its blood alcohol limit to 0.08 percent, and since then tourism has flourished.