displayfireworks1
01-21-2014, 08:11 PM
RICHMOND — Virginia could capture a slice of the fireworks business that’s currently enjoyed by South Carolina, Tennessee and a few other states under a bill approved Monday in a Senate committee.
Consumers, on the other hand, could enjoy devices with a louder bang, as well as aerial displays, in addition to what currently is legal to sell or shoot in the state.
Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Louisa County, said his Senate Bill 343 would legalize what it calls regulated consumer-grade fireworks, in addition to the consumer-grade fireworks now sold in Virginia.
The regulated consumer-grade fireworks could be sold statewide to people 18 and older unless local governments decide to prohibit the sale or use of them.
In the trade, the new fireworks would be known as 1.4G, which is a federal standard meaning they’re smaller than the shells used by licensed launchers in public fireworks displays.
Garrett said he and his staff spent months working on a version of the bill that was acceptable to associations representing firefighters, the housing and community development board, and the home builders that monitor bills in the General Assembly.
Virginia’s current limitation on fireworks sales was written when there were no federal standards on fireworks’ size or safety.
“It was a public-safety thing,” Garrett said. “You’ve heard stories where somebody’s Dad pulled the M80 out and put a divot in the blacktop on the Fourth of July. This is not going to include fireworks like that. There were people losing digits,” and those big blasters are not around anymore, Garrett said.
Sen. Dick Black, R-Loudoun County, seemed to remember the old days of firecrackers when he said, “It’s never going to get as good as before, when we had cherry bombs and M80s and you could light a fuse and throw them in the water and they’d explode underwater. It was great stuff.
“I think this measure is somewhere in the middle of the little twinkies we have today and those really robust fireworks of the past.”
Garrett told the Senate General Laws committee that amending Virginia’s law could be an economic boost, particularly for low-income rural communities near the borders with North Carolina and Maryland.
“We could expect up to $40 million to $60 million additional revenue into the state,” Garrett said, with $750,000 of fees for fire marshals who inspect sellers’ establishments.
There could be “between 500 and 1,000 full-time jobs created, and 8,000 to 10,000 seasonal part-time jobs leading up to the Fourth of July,” Garrett said.
.
http://www.theclipartwizard.com/images/flags/Map_of_Virginia.png
Consumers, on the other hand, could enjoy devices with a louder bang, as well as aerial displays, in addition to what currently is legal to sell or shoot in the state.
Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Louisa County, said his Senate Bill 343 would legalize what it calls regulated consumer-grade fireworks, in addition to the consumer-grade fireworks now sold in Virginia.
The regulated consumer-grade fireworks could be sold statewide to people 18 and older unless local governments decide to prohibit the sale or use of them.
In the trade, the new fireworks would be known as 1.4G, which is a federal standard meaning they’re smaller than the shells used by licensed launchers in public fireworks displays.
Garrett said he and his staff spent months working on a version of the bill that was acceptable to associations representing firefighters, the housing and community development board, and the home builders that monitor bills in the General Assembly.
Virginia’s current limitation on fireworks sales was written when there were no federal standards on fireworks’ size or safety.
“It was a public-safety thing,” Garrett said. “You’ve heard stories where somebody’s Dad pulled the M80 out and put a divot in the blacktop on the Fourth of July. This is not going to include fireworks like that. There were people losing digits,” and those big blasters are not around anymore, Garrett said.
Sen. Dick Black, R-Loudoun County, seemed to remember the old days of firecrackers when he said, “It’s never going to get as good as before, when we had cherry bombs and M80s and you could light a fuse and throw them in the water and they’d explode underwater. It was great stuff.
“I think this measure is somewhere in the middle of the little twinkies we have today and those really robust fireworks of the past.”
Garrett told the Senate General Laws committee that amending Virginia’s law could be an economic boost, particularly for low-income rural communities near the borders with North Carolina and Maryland.
“We could expect up to $40 million to $60 million additional revenue into the state,” Garrett said, with $750,000 of fees for fire marshals who inspect sellers’ establishments.
There could be “between 500 and 1,000 full-time jobs created, and 8,000 to 10,000 seasonal part-time jobs leading up to the Fourth of July,” Garrett said.
.
http://www.theclipartwizard.com/images/flags/Map_of_Virginia.png