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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 29, 2020 03:03 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Judith L. Schwank |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Repealing the Fireworks Law of 2017 |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that repeals Article XXIV of Act 43 of 2017, known as the Fireworks Law. Since the enactment of this legislation, municipalities all over the state are flooded with complaints each summer as residents light noisy fireworks late into the night, night after night, leaving typically quiet neighborhoods no longer quiet and peaceful. It poses a serious problem for people who have young children, sensitive animals or medical conditions, as well as those who simply must go to work early the next morning and would like to get some sleep. Our police and fire departments officials say the complaints continue to pile up and law enforcement has proven to be futile at best. Not only are fireworks a quality-of-life issue, but they can have deadly consequences. Nationwide last year there were an estimated 10,000 injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments during calendar year. The estimated rate of fireworks-related, emergency department-treated injuries in the United States is 3.1 per 100,000 individuals. Children younger than 15 years of age accounted for 36 percent of the estimated fireworks-related injuries. Similar to 2018, nearly half of the estimated emergency department-treated, fireworks-related injuries were to individuals younger than 20 years of age., according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. During the 1-month special study period from June 21, 2019 to July 21, 2019, across the country there were an estimated 7,300 emergency department-treated, fireworks-related injuries. Children under 15 years of age experienced about 36 percent of the estimated injuries, and males of all ages experienced 66 percent of the estimated injuries. I’ve heard from many constituents who are unhappy with the increase in booms, bangs and ear-splitting explosions throughout the year. This law is broken, and it needs to be repealed. Too many of our residents are getting hurt and even killed. Please join me in supporting this very important piece of legislation. |
Introduced as SB1227