Bill would legalize fireworks sales in Georgia

Yay! I'm tired of driving to TN or AL to buy decent fireworks.

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Legislation legalizing the sale of fireworks was introduced Wednesday in the Georgia House.

House Bill 15, by Rep. Scot Turner, R-Holly Springs, would lift the age-old ban on the sale of bottle rockets and other consumer fireworks.

It is not a new effort. Senate Rules Committee Chairman Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, has tried on and off for years to pass such a bill, but has met serious resistance from firefighters, hospital groups and the insurance industry.

Legislation legalizing the sale of fireworks was introduced in the Georgia House on Wednesday.

A key difference between Mullis’ previous efforts and this year’s bill: Turner’s measure does not mandate a new fee on retailers. Mullis in the past had proposed using the fee to help boost funding for trauma hospitals.

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http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-r...4_politics_sfp

That law actually sounds better as the ones that didn't pass in previous years ? Thats weird, usually bills become worse after time passes.

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Originally Posted by Suzanimal

Yay! I'm tired of driving to TN or AL to buy decent fireworks.

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Yay! Less Georgians coming to Tennessee!!!

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Originally Posted by FunkBuddha

Yay! Less Georgians coming to Tennessee!!!

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It's a win-win.:D

Yay! My masters are one step closer to letting me buy bottle rockets.

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House shoots fireworks bill to Senate

Georgians would no longer have to cross state borders to purchase fireworks under legislation approved in the state House on Monday.

By a vote of 119-49, the House approved House Bill 110, sponsored by Rep. Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla. It lefts the state ban on the sale of bottle rockets and other so-called consumer fireworks. Every state that borders Georgia, save North Carolina, allows the sale of fireworks, Roberts said, who expects the bill to generate 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs.

Several Democrats, including Reps. Margaret Kaiser of Atlanta and Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur, argued the bill will lead to children being injured or maimed. .

HB 110 would allow businesses and non-profits to pay a licensing fee and sell the popular explosives. The bill would also create a new excise tax of 5 percent on every sale, in addition to state and local sales taxes.

The bill now goes to the Senate.

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http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-r...-senate/nkRTN/

Freedom isn't free.

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Boom: Fireworks sales will soon be legal in Georgia

Georgians will no longer have to travel to neighboring states to buy fireworks under legislation signed by Gov. Nathan Deal.

House Bill 110 will legalize the sale of consumer fireworks in Georgia, allowing residents to buy bottle rockets and other launchers in the state. It will take effect on July 1 – just in time for the Fourth of July.

Supporters see it as way to spark the economy, since every state bordering Georgia except North Carolina already allows their citizens to buy fireworks. Opponents, including firefighters and healthcare groups, have fought the proposal by pointing to tragic cases of maimed children and damaged property.

Previous efforts to legalize fireworks sales fizzled out amid safety concerns. But Deal said this year he doesn’t think the proposal is as explosive as it once was.

“People in our state are crossing state lines and buying fireworks,” Deal said Tuesday. “We have so many neighbors around us that already authorize the sale of fireworks, I think this just made sense. And I think we have taken every precaution we can to try to eliminate any injuries associated with it.”

The measure would allow businesses and non-profits to pay a $5,000 licensing fee and sell the popular explosives, and the funds are required to be spent for public safety purposes. The bill would also create a new excise tax of 5 percent on every sale, in addition to state and local sales taxes.

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http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2015/05...4_politics_sfp

Where has Georgia been buying them, Alabama?

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Originally Posted by Ronin Truth

Where has Georgia been buying them, Alabama?

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I buy them in Tennessee.:)

Let's all hear it again for good old Bill.

YAY, what a guy! :D

http://www.bagofnothing.com/wordpres...rksallowed.jpg

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Originally Posted by Ronin Truth

Let's all hear it again for good old Bill.

YAY, what a guy! :D

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I won't cheer for the bastard, he rarely does anything right.:mad:

It was pouring down rain for two days (flash floods) and didn't quit until Saturday afternoon. There was no way anything was catching on fire.:mad:

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New Ga. fireworks law leaves some fuming

Georgia’s new law legalizing fireworks gave some residents a giant headache this weekend as loud, celebratory explosions lasted into the early morning hours and at least one metro-Atlanta man was seriously injured.

It was still too early to say, in some places, whether the number of fireworks-related complaints and injuries had increased from the previous holiday weekend. But social media was ablaze with posts from irritated Georgians fearing for their safety and complaining about the noise and mess. Some were still fuming Monday.

“It is ABSURD that this is allowed — never mind until 2:00 a.m. (what were they thinking?!?!?) in residential neighborhoods,” wrote Alice Melott in an e-mail to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I got no sleep all weekend and my holiday was ruined by the constant blowing up of things outside my home in residential Kirkwood. My dogs were terrified and traumatized, and I spent three nights wondering if my roof or yard would catch fire,” the resident of Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood said.

That complaint was echoed by Basem Alamoodi, of Tucker.

“It was annoying but I also thought it was not safe. Every time it seemed like there could be a fire,” he said.

One Cobb County man was seriously injured when a malfunctioning firework blew up and hit him in the back of his leg. Jeremy McCrackin was rushed to Kennestone’s trauma unit and had surgery to stabilize the bone, according to a gofundme site seeking help with his medical expenses. He has two broken bones in his leg and severe tissue damage and is going to have at least two more surgeries before he can begin his recovery. The 31-year-old had been helping a friend with a fireworks show at Governor’s Town Home Community in Acworth.

With complaints pouring in, a backlash was brewing against the new law on Monday. Adopted by state legislators earlier this year, it permits the sale and possession of fireworks and took effect July 1, just in time for the Fourth of July festivities. Georgians may set off fireworks any time between 10 a.m. and midnight for most of the year and until 2 a.m. around New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July. Areas near gas stations and nuclear plants are off limits but there are no other restrictions on where they can be ignited.

State Rep. Keisha Waites, D-Atlanta, on Monday called for the law’s repeal, saying it “goes too far and encroaches upon the rights of others.”

State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver — who calls Georgia’s new fireworks statute the “blow-the-child’s-hand-off” law :rolleyes:— said she got numerous complaints from her constituents and supports amending the law to give local communities more control over where fireworks may be used.

“There seems to be an interest in giving cities and counties more authority to make rational decisions for their communities on when and where they may be shot off,” the Democrat from Decatur said.

The sponsors of the legislation – former state Rep. Jay Roberts of Ocilla and state Sen. Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga – did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

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http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-r...4_gwinnett_sfp

Whiney bitches. Unfortunately they breed and vote.

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Originally Posted by FunkBuddha

Whiney bitches. Unfortunately they breed and vote.

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They're easy to scare though.......:cool:

:mad:

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Georgia House votes to limit use of fireworks

The Georgia House on Monday voted to place new limits on the use of fireworks in the state, just a year after making it legal to fire them off at all.

The House voted 165-8 to send House Bill 727 to the Senate. That body last week passed its own version of fireworks reform.

HB 727, sponsored by Rep. Paul Battles, R-Cartersville, would reduce by an hour when fireworks can be used on Jan. 1 and over the Fourth of July. Instead of a 2 a.m. cut-off, the bill would make it illegal to use fireworks after 1 a.m. The rest of the year Georgians would have to stop firing off the combustibles after 10 p.m., instead of midnight, as current law allows.


Like HB 727, Senate Bill 369 would set new limits on the time fireworks could be ignited. Both would give local authorities more control over regulating fireworks in their communities.

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http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-r...reworks/nqZyd/

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Four things to know about the new fireworks law on 4th of July

ATLANTA - A year after Georgia legalized fireworks, a backlash of complaints caused lawmakers to change the law… again. It means new rules are now in place for your 4th of July fireworks. Here are the four things you need to know to stay within in the new law this holiday:

1. Fireworks can be set off until midnight on July 3rd and 4th. Those are special provisions for the 4th of July holiday. That deadline is 1:00 am for New Year's Eve. Every other day of the year, the hours are restricted to allow fireworks between 10:00 am and 9:00 pm. Local governments are allowed to pass ordinances that extend those limits.

2. No fireworks are allowed in any public road, right-of-way, or park.

3. The law bans setting off fireworks within 100 yards of various specific locations. Those locations include "quiet places" like a hospital, nursing home, or prison. It also includes fire danger locations like electric plants, water treatment facilities, and gas stations.

4. It’s illegal to use fireworks while impaired by drugs or alcohol and if you’re under the age of 18. The law doesn't set a specific BAC, but sets the limit at "where a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that it is unsafe for such person to use or explode fireworks". Under the law, 16 and 17-year-old can transport fireworks is working for a licensed fireworks distributor, but only those 18 and older can ignite fireworks. And no one under the age of 16 is allowed to possess consumer fireworks.

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http://www.11alive.com/news/local/fo...july/258103689

Give Bill another chance. :D

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Originally Posted by Ronin Truth

Give Bill another chance. :D

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I'm not giving Bill anymore chances. He's robbed me and raped me for the last time!!!:mad:

Using the chart aboe, MIchigan went from red to yellow. The whining of the liberals is far more annoying than the late night explosions on holidays.

LOL @ "safe and sane." We went to a green state and bought what the guy suggested - those things almost scared us! Practically professional grade. The neighbors sent up bottle rockets, we lit up the neighborhood :D

We went back the next year and bought more!

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Originally Posted by angelatc

Using the chart aboe, MIchigan went from red to yellow. The whining of the liberals is far more annoying than the late night explosions on holidays.

LOL @ "safe and sane." We went to a green state and bought what the guy suggested - those things almost scared us! Practically professional grade. The neighbors sent up bottle rockets, we lit up the neighborhood :D

We went back the next year and bought more!

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We stop in Tennessee on the way home from Buffalo to stock up on good ones.:) There are some really good ones out there.

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Originally Posted by Suzanimal

I buy them in Tennessee.:)

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That is where I used to get 'em.

I'm watching the fireworks from my window and there are more illegal ones than legal ones, lol.