Senate Passes Johnson Bill Legalizing Safe Usage of Fireworks

COLUMBUS—State Senator Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) announced today the passage of Senate Bill 113, which would legalize the safe use of consumer grade fireworks in Ohio on and around major holidays. “I was delighted today with the bipartisan vote that Senate Bill 113 received in the Ohio Senate. For too long Ohioans have been saddled with a consumer-grade fireworks law that was largely ignored and was all but unenforceable," Johnson said. "My bill, if enacted into law, will once again allow Ohio citizens to legally celebrate a number of major holidays—and most especially our American Independence Day—by setting off fireworks.” The bill would also establish the Ohio Fire Code Rule Recommendation Committee to advise the State Fire Marshal regarding rules around local firework usage, sale and manufacturing. The committee will be made up of the State Fire Marshal, local fire chiefs, a local police chief, and members from the Ohio State Pyrotechnics Association, Ohio Optometric Association, Prevent Blindness Ohio, Ohio Pyrotechnic Arts Guild, Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants.

Senate Bill 113 would still allow local municipalities to restrict or ban the use of fireworks in their communities. For more information about Senate Bill 113, click here. To watch Senator Johnson's floor speech today, click here.