PRINTER'S NO. 1056
No. 856 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY MADIGAN, WOZNIAK, PILEGGI, TARTAGLIONE, RAFFERTY,
STOUT, LEMMOND, COSTA, EARLL, KITCHEN, WONDERLING AND
THOMPSON, JULY 7, 2003
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JULY 7, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 15, 1939 (P.L.134, No.65), entitled, as
2 amended, "An act relating to fireworks; defining fireworks;
3 prohibiting the sale, offering or exposing for sale and use
4 of fireworks, except in certain cases; authorizing cities,
5 boroughs, towns and townships to issue permits for fireworks
6 displays, and to regulate the same; imposing duties on the
7 Pennsylvania State Police, sheriffs, police officers and
8 constables; and providing penalties," regulating sale and use
9 of fireworks.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. The title of the act of May 15, 1939 (P.L.134,
13 No.65), referred to as the Fireworks Law, amended March 22, 1951
14 (P.L.57, No.14), is amended to read:
15 AN ACT
16 Relating to fireworks; defining fireworks; prohibiting the sale,
17 regulating the sale, offering or exposing for sale and use of
18 fireworks, except in certain cases; authorizing cities,
19 boroughs, towns and townships to issue permits for fireworks
20 displays, and to regulate the same; imposing duties on the
21 Pennsylvania State Police, sheriffs, police officers and
1 constables; and providing penalties.
2 Section 2. Section 1 of the act, amended November 9, 1973
3 (P.L.335, No.112), is amended to read:
4 Section 1. The term "consumer fireworks" shall mean and
5 include any combustible or explosive composition or any
6 substance or combination of substances [or, except as
7 hereinafter provided, any article prepared for the purpose of
8 producing a visible or an audible effect by combustion,
9 explosion, deflagration or detonation, and shall include blank
10 cartridges and toy cannons in which explosives are used, the
11 type of balloons which require fire underneath to propel the
12 same, firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, Roman candles, aerial
13 fireworks, or other fireworks of like construction, and any
14 fireworks containing any explosive or flammable compound or any
15 tablets or other device containing an explosive substance.
16 The term "fireworks" shall not include sparklers, toy
17 pistols, toy canes, toy guns, or other devices in which paper
18 caps containing twenty-five hundredths grains or less of
19 explosive compound are used, providing they are so constructed
20 that the hand cannot come in contact with the cap when in place
21 for the explosion, and toy pistol paper caps which contain less
22 than twenty hundredths grains of explosive mixture, the sale and
23 use of which shall be permitted at all times, nor shall the term
24 "fireworks" include toy cannons which operate on the principle
25 of mixing calcium carbide, weighing less than one tenth of an
26 ounce, and water in the reservoir of the cannon and in which
27 ignition results upon the creation of a spark.] intended to
28 produce visible and/or audible effects by combustion,
29 deflagration or detonation. Fireworks, novelties, and theatrical
30 pyrotechnics as described and defined in the American
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1 Pyrotechnics Association Standard 87-1 as referenced in 49 CFR
2 173.56 (j)(1) (relating to new explosives--definition and
3 procedures for classification and approval). The term "consumer
4 fireworks" shall not include handheld or ground-based sparklers.
5 Also, the term "consumer fireworks" shall not include novelties
6 further described as devices containing small amounts of
7 pyrotechnic and/or explosive composition but not described as
8 consumer fireworks in 27 CFR (relating to alcohol, tobacco
9 products and firearms) and in 49 CFR (relating to
10 transportation). Such devices produce limited visible or audible
11 effects. These items shall be classified as "1.4G" unless
12 classified as "1.4S" or deregulated as a hazardous material by
13 the United States Department of Transportation on the basis of
14 examination and testing as specified in 49 CFR § 173.56.
15 The term "consumer fireworks" shall be defined as provided in
16 27 CFR § 55.11 (relating to meaning of terms).
17 The term "display fireworks" shall be defined as provided in
18 27 CFR § 55.11 (relating to meaning of terms).
19 The term "municipalities" shall include cities, boroughs,
20 incorporated towns and townships.
21 Section 3. Section 4 of the act, amended February 10, 1956
22 (1955 P.L.1033, No.325), is amended to read:
23 Section 4. Nothing in this act shall be construed to
24 prohibit any [resident wholesaler, dealer or jobber to sell at
25 wholesale such fireworks as are not herein prohibited,] licensed
26 facility from selling any consumer fireworks or the year-round
27 sale of any kind of consumer fireworks, provided the same are to
28 be [shipped] transported directly out of state[, or are to] by
29 the seller or purchaser. Fireworks may be used by a person
30 holding a permit from any municipality at the display covered by
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1 such permit, or when used as authorized by a permit for
2 agricultural purposes in connection with the raising of crops
3 and the protection of crops from bird and animal damage, or the
4 use of fireworks by railroads or other transportation agencies
5 for signal purposes or illumination, or when used in quarrying
6 or for blasting or other industrial use, or the sale or use of
7 blank cartridges for a show or theatre, or for signal or
8 ceremonial purposes in athletics or sports, or for use by
9 military organizations or organizations composed of veterans of
10 the United States Army or Navy.
11 Section 4. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
12 Section 4.2. Permission must be given by the governing body
13 of any city, borough, town or township under reasonable rules
14 and regulations for displays of fireworks to be held therein by
15 municipalities, fair associations, amusement parks and other
16 organizations or groups of individuals. Every such display shall
17 be handled by a competent operator and shall be of such a
18 character and so located, discharged or fired, as in the opinion
19 of the chief of the fire department or other such officer as may
20 be designated by the governing body of the municipality, after
21 proper inspection, to not be hazardous to property or endanger
22 any person or persons. After such privilege shall have been
23 granted, sales, possession, use and distribution for such
24 display shall be lawful for that purpose only. No permit shall
25 be transferable.
26 Section 4.3. Consumer fireworks shall be sold only from
27 facilities that are licensed by the Department of Agriculture
28 and that meet the following criteria:
29 (1) The facility shall be limited in size to eight
30 thousand (8,000) square feet of selling area to which a
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1 purchaser may be admitted.
2 (2) Aisles in the facility shall be a minimum of four
3 (4) feet wide, and they shall be kept free and unobstructed
4 at all times.
5 (3) There must be one exit door for every two thousand
6 (2,000) square feet of selling space to which a purchaser may
7 be admitted, with a minimum of one (1) emergency exit door
8 for every two thousand (2,000) square feet of space in the
9 facility.
10 (4) The exit doors shall be metal and shall be equipped
11 with push-panic locks.
12 (5) Exit doors shall be clearly marked with lighted exit
13 signs with battery backups.
14 (6) The facilities must be in a stand-alone building.
15 (7) The facilities shall be equipped with an adequate
16 number of smoke detectors in both the retail and storage
17 areas which smoke detectors shall be inspected and tested
18 annually prior to the opening of the facility. Fire
19 extinguishers shall be located so there is a maximum of
20 seventy-five (75) feet of distance between the extinguishers.
21 (8) Storage areas shall be separated from areas to which
22 a purchaser may be admitted by appropriately rated fire
23 separation.
24 (9) The facility shall be located no closer than two
25 hundred fifty (250) feet from any facility selling or
26 dispensing gasoline, propane, or other such flammable
27 products.
28 (10) No consumer fireworks facility shall be located
29 within two hundred fifty (250) feet of another consumer
30 fireworks sales facility.
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1 Section 4.4. Applications for licenses to sell consumer
2 fireworks shall be submitted to the Department of Agriculture by
3 January 15 of each year on forms prescribed and provided by the
4 department. Licenses shall be issued no later than March 1 of
5 each year. The license application shall be accompanied by an
6 annual license fee of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per
7 location. No license shall be issued to any convicted felons or
8 to any entities where a convicted felon owns five percent (5%)
9 or more of the equity interest in such entity.
10 Section 4.5. The consumer fireworks sales facility shall be
11 exclusively dedicated to the sale of consumer fireworks and
12 related items, and the facility shall operate in accordance with
13 the following rules:
14 (1) There must be security personnel on the premises for
15 the seven (7) days preceding and including July 4 and for the
16 three (3) days preceding and including January 2.
17 (2) No smoking shall be permitted in the facility.
18 (3) No cigarettes or tobacco products, matches,
19 lighters, or any other flame-producing devices shall be
20 permitted to be taken into the facility.
21 (4) No minors shall be permitted in the facility unless
22 accompanied by an adult, and each minor must stay with the
23 adult in the facility.
24 (5) All consumer fireworks sold in the facility must
25 comply with the United States Consumer Product Safety
26 Commission manufacturing and performance standards.
27 (6) All facilities must carry at least two million
28 dollars ($2,000,000) in public and product liability
29 insurance.
30 (7) All of the licensee's employes must be given
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1 documented training in the area of operational safety of a
2 consumer fireworks sales facility. The storage of 1.3G
3 display fireworks must comply with the Bureau of Alcohol,
4 Tobacco and Firearms regulations.
5 (8) No 1.3G display fireworks shall be stored or located
6 at a consumer fireworks sales facility.
7 (9) No person under the influence of intoxicating liquor
8 or drugs shall be admitted to the facility, and no liquor,
9 beer, or wine shall be permitted in the facility.
10 (10) No fireworks shall be ignited within three hundred
11 (300) feet of a licensed consumer fireworks sales facility.
12 (11) Emergency evacuation plans must be conspicuously
13 posted in appropriate locations within the facility.
14 Section 5. Section 6 of the act is amended to read:
15 Section 6. [Any person, copartnership, association or
16 corporation violating the provisions of this act shall be guilty
17 of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished
18 by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) or in the
19 case of individuals, the members of a partnership and the
20 responsible officers and agents of an association or
21 corporation, by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding
22 ninety (90) days or by both such fine and imprisonment.] Any
23 person, copartnership, association, or corporation using
24 consumer fireworks in violation of the provisions of this act
25 commits a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished
26 by a fine of not more than one hundred ($100) dollars. Any
27 person, copartnership, association, or corporation selling
28 consumer fireworks in violation of the provisions of this act
29 commits a misdemeanor of the third degree, and, upon conviction,
30 shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand
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1 ($5,000) dollars. Any person, copartnership, association, or
2 corporation selling display fireworks in violation of the
3 provisions of this act, commits a felony of the third degree
4 and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more
5 than ten thousand ($10,000) dollars or to imprisonment of not
6 more than ten (10) years, or both. Any person, copartnership,
7 association, or corporation selling federally illegal explosives
8 such as devices as described in 49 CFR 173.54 (relating to
9 forbidden explosives) or those devices that have not been
10 tested, approved and labeled by the Federal Department of
11 Transportation, including, but not limited to, those devices
12 commonly referred to as "M-80," "M-100," "blockbuster," "cherry
13 bomb" or "quarter or half stick" explosive devices, in violation
14 of the provisions of this act, commits a felony of the third
15 degree and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not
16 more than ten thousand ($10,000) dollars or to imprisonment of
17 not more than ten (10) years, or both.
18 Section 6. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
19 Section 7.1. The Pennsylvania State Police or any sheriff,
20 police officer or constable shall take, remove or cause to be
21 removed at the expense of the owner, all stocks of fireworks or
22 combustibles offered or exposed for sale, stored, or held in
23 violation of this act. The owner shall also be responsible for
24 the storage and, if deemed necessary, the destruction of these
25 fireworks.
26 Section 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
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