Ohio fireworks legalization bill shoots ahead in state legislature

The Ohio Senate on Wednesday passed revamped legislation to legalize the use of consumer-grade fireworks on or around most holidays after a similar bill was vetoed by Gov. Mike DeWine last summer.

Should House Bill 172 clear a final House vote without further changes, the governor will likely sign the legislation, according to a spokesman.

The legislation, which passed the Ohio Senate 26-5 on Wednesday, would take effect July 1, 2022, just before the Fourth of July weekend.

Under current law, residents may legally buy most forms of common or “consumer” fireworks in Ohio, but it requires them to take those fireworks out of the state within 48 hours — a rule that is almost universally flouted.

The bill would eliminate that 48-hour rule and allow the public to use fireworks from the days around July 4, Diwali and New Year’s Eve, over Memorial and Labor Day weekends, and on New Year’s Day, Juneteenth, Cinco De Mayo and Lunar New Year.

Local governments would still be permitted to ban fireworks or only allow them to be set off during certain times. It would be illegal to use fireworks while drinking alcohol, using controlled substances or setting them off on another’s property without permission.

The measure also would impose a 4-percent fee on fireworks sales, the proceeds of which would go toward firefighter training and increased enforcement of fireworks law. Fireworks dealers must provide safety glasses to customers free of charge.

The bill would allow fireworks retailers to increase the size of their showrooms from 5,000 square feet under current law to 7,500 square feet. Any showrooms larger than 5,000 square feet would have to be equipped with a sprinkler system that meets certain standards.

The last two provisions seek to fix issues that DeWine raised when he vetoed a similarly worded fireworks legalization bill last July that would have allowed showrooms as large as 10,000 square feet and didn’t include any sprinkler requirements.

In his veto message, the governor cited studies about fireworks store safety features that were done in the wake of a 1996 explosion at a Southern Ohio fireworks store that killed nine and injured 11.

DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the changes the lawmakers made in HB172 “addresses and alleviates” the concerns that the governor had with the prior bill. If the bill passes as currently written, Tierney said, DeWine “would likely sign that.”

One part of HB172 that would take effect immediately would extend a state moratorium on new or transferred fireworks manufacturing or wholesaler licenses from Dec. 31 of this year to the end of 2022.

While no one spoke during Wednesday’s session against the bill, the five senators who voted “no” included Republican state Sen. Niraj Antani of the Dayton area, as well as Democratic state Sens. Hearcel Craig of Columbus, Tina Maharath of suburban Columbus, Vernon Sykes of Akron, and Sandra Williams of Cleveland.