Legislation that moved out of the House Regulatory Reform Committee last week would reduce the number of days and the time people are allowed to shoot off fireworks. Under current law there are approximately 30 days per year that allow fireworks to be shot off until 1 a.m.

House Bill 5939 would reduce the number of days to 12. Those dates consist of the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, June 29 to July 4, July 5 only if that date falls on a Friday or Saturday, the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend and December 31. Under the bill, municipalities could restrict fireworks to a start time after 11 a.m. and a stop time of 11:30 p.m. except on the December 31. Celebrations could last until 1 a.m. This bill also requires firework vendors to provide a notification of the allowable dates and times to shoot fireworks with every purchase, and increases civil fines for those caught not following the law.

House Bill 5940 would allow more regulation around temporary structures selling fireworks, but is based on a population threshold. And, House Bill 5941 lays out the parameters for when a temporary fireworks ban can be declared to prevent fires during dry weather conditions.

The legislation now moves to the House floor for consideration. See the original blog post on this legislation introduced earlier this year HERE.

Jennifer Rigterink is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development, land use and municipal services issues.  She can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0305.