A bill allowing Ohioans to set off firecrackers, bottle rockets and other consumer-grade fireworks went down in flames Wednesday afternoon thanks to a procedural misstep that kept it from a House floor vote.
The House Health and Aging Committee planned to approve Senate Bill 386 for a floor vote later in the day — the last day of this two-year legislative session. The committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Lynn Wachtmann of Napoleon, said the committee approved the bill 10-8, but he inadvertently adjourned the meeting before the 10-vote threshold was reached.
Senate Bill 386 would have repealed Ohio’s fireworks “liar’s law,” which allows people to purchase the explosives in Ohio with the promise they remove them from the state within 48 hours. Counties and townships could have chosen to ban the fireworks or restrict dates and times when fireworks could be set off.
A 4 percent tax would have been added to fireworks to pay for firefighter training and enforcement of the law. The bill also would have extended a state moratorium on new licenses for fireworks manufacturers or wholesalers to 2018.
The Senate approved the bill last week in a 22-7 vote.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Dave Burke of Marysville, said states have been loosening restrictions around consumer-grade fireworks, which are legal in 40 states.
“These changes will help ensure that the safest products will be used, strengthen enforcement on violators of the law, educate consumers, and ultimately result in a much more safe and happy Fourth of July in 2015,” Burke said.
Earlier in the day, opponents raised concerns about the legislation, urging that it be reintroduced next year so that more time could be devoted to addressing how fireworks should be regulated and safety concerns could be addressed.
Former Attorney General Betty Montgomery said the bill lacked adequate enforcement provisions. The burden would be unfair, particularly to township governments, she said, because enforcement would fall to local fire marshals.
She said something needs to be done to address the shortcomings of the current law. It is a first-degree misdemeanor for unlicensed individuals to discharge fireworks in Ohio or to possess the goods after they should have been taken out of the state. First-time offenders face fines up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
“I don’t know that it’s ever been enforced,” Montgomery said. “They (bill sponsors) are addressing a bad law appropriately. We disagree with the timing.”
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online News
