(INDIANAPOLIS) -- A House committee approved a bill that would limit fireworks to just five days a year, but lawmakers said they wanted to change the legislation so that local governments could permit fireworks more often if they chose.
The House Local Government Committee on Thursday passed the proposal, which would only allow fireworks on Dec. 31 , Jan. 1 and July 3-5.
Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, said he expects an amendment to the proposal that would allow local units of government to permit fireworks more often if they choose.
The Senate, meanwhile, is considering a bill that would allow counties, cities and towns to restrict or outright ban the use of fireworks except on July 3, July 4 and Dec. 31.
If either bill passes the General Assembly, it would be a major change to a law enacted last year. That law permits the use of fireworks every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with an extension to midnight on state holidays such as the Fourth of July and New Year's. It requires they be shot off on the user's property or another's with the owner's permission and imposes a fee on fireworks purchases that pays for firefighter training.
The law was meant to end a previous system that allowed people to buy fireworks by signing a form promising to set them off out of state or special areas designated for their use. Critics said that law was a sham because it was largely ignored and rarely enforced.
But residents and officials from several cities have complained about the new law, saying it has led to an increase in the use of fireworks and people shooting them off early in the morning.
Indianapolis Republican Rep. Jon Elrod said at the committee meeting Thursday that he was concerned about the safety of setting off fireworks in close quarters.
"In my neighborhood it was an absolute artillery range," he said.
But some representatives from rural areas do not support fireworks restrictions.
"Do you mind me introducing an amendment to eliminate apple pie, because in southern Indiana fireworks are just about as American as apple pie, motherhood and babies," joked Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick. "My people are adamant they want their fireworks."
The House Local Government Committee on Thursday passed the proposal, which would only allow fireworks on Dec. 31 , Jan. 1 and July 3-5.
Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, said he expects an amendment to the proposal that would allow local units of government to permit fireworks more often if they choose.
The Senate, meanwhile, is considering a bill that would allow counties, cities and towns to restrict or outright ban the use of fireworks except on July 3, July 4 and Dec. 31.
If either bill passes the General Assembly, it would be a major change to a law enacted last year. That law permits the use of fireworks every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with an extension to midnight on state holidays such as the Fourth of July and New Year's. It requires they be shot off on the user's property or another's with the owner's permission and imposes a fee on fireworks purchases that pays for firefighter training.
The law was meant to end a previous system that allowed people to buy fireworks by signing a form promising to set them off out of state or special areas designated for their use. Critics said that law was a sham because it was largely ignored and rarely enforced.
But residents and officials from several cities have complained about the new law, saying it has led to an increase in the use of fireworks and people shooting them off early in the morning.
Indianapolis Republican Rep. Jon Elrod said at the committee meeting Thursday that he was concerned about the safety of setting off fireworks in close quarters.
"In my neighborhood it was an absolute artillery range," he said.
But some representatives from rural areas do not support fireworks restrictions.
"Do you mind me introducing an amendment to eliminate apple pie, because in southern Indiana fireworks are just about as American as apple pie, motherhood and babies," joked Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick. "My people are adamant they want their fireworks."