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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill on Friday afternoon that would have legalized consumer fireworks in Ohio, saying the law change was dramatic and would have been one of the least restrictive in the country.
In his veto message to members of the Ohio General Assembly, DeWine noted that the bill would have allowed bottled rockets, firecrackers and aerial fireworks to be launched 24 hours a day for several hours. many public holidays.
“Since the fireworks store tragedy in Scottown, Ohio (Lawrence County) in 1996, there have been 2 major studies, one by Battelle Labs in 2000 and another by the Southwest Research Institute in 2008 (conducted for fireworks industry) to help find better ways to build and operate fireworks stores, ”DeWine said in a statement. “SB 113 does not require compliance with the security measures described in these studies, but nevertheless doubles the size of stores that sell these devices to the public.”
The Scottown incident happened at the Ohio River Fireworks store, which caught fire – killing nine people and injuring 11, according to a recent story in the Huntington, WV Herald-Dispatch, recalling the July 4th tragedy .
Current Ohio law requires people to transport Ohio fireworks within 48 hours of purchase.
Senate Bill 113 would have allowed fireworks to be destroyed on a handful of public holidays – from the days around July 4, Dwali and New Years Eve, during Memorial and Labor weekends. Day, and New Years Day, Juneteenth, Cinco De Mayo and Lunar New Year.
The bill would have imposed a 4% fee on the retail sale of consumer fireworks, and would have allowed retailers to increase their floor space for consumer fireworks from 5,000 to 10,000. square feet. The fees reportedly funded firefighter training programs and the regulation and enforcement of the fireworks industry by the Ohio State Fire Marshal.
If DeWine had signed on to the bill, consumers would not have been able to buy fireworks for about a year, leaving the Office of the Fire Marshal time to make fireworks rules. of consumers.
The veto comes after the death of Matiss Kivlenieks, a Columbus Blue Jackets goalie, in a fireworks display in the Detroit area on Sunday.
Kivlenieks was in a hot tub at the home of Manny Legace, the hockey team’s goaltender coach, when fireworks accidentally went off in his direction, according to the Detroit Free Press. As Kivlenieks left the hot tub, he slipped and hit his head. The autopsy revealed that he sustained percussion injuries to internal organs as a result of a fireworks explosion.
Kivlenieks, 24, was from Latvia.
The veto is likely to upset executives at Youngstown-based Phantom Fireworks, who have donated to President Donald Trump in the past and even got a Twitter shot from the former president for helping pay for a celebration of the July 4, 2019 in Washington. Phantom Fireworks lobbied SB 113. It could also cause more resentment against DeWine among Trump voters in Ohio.
DeWine faces candidates for next year’s gubernatorial primary who are more to the right than him and claim to be more aligned with the former president.
Read more:
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