Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on February 17, 2011, to establish a comprehensive regulatory regime for the sale, distribution and use of currently-illegal "consumer fireworks" including firecrackers, bottle rockets, aerial spinners, Roman candles, etc. (“APA standard 87-1” fireworks). The bill proposes a $1,000 permit fee for sellers, $600 for temporary location "tent" sellers. It also would impose a mandate for sellers to carry a $10 million insurance policy, and a 6 percent tax ("fireworks safety fee") in addition to the usual 6 percent sales tax. Local governments could prohibit residents from using fireworks, but could not ban firewords sellers who meet the bill's conditions

The vote was 98 in favor, 10 opposed and 1 not voting

(House Roll Call 420 at House Journal 0)

Click here to view bill details.

 Screw the kids who might be permanently disabled or disfigured by powerful fireworks set off by drunks etc, as long as we can tax the fireworks and Indiana doesn't get it.  Rather than reinforce the existing laws about transporting illegal fireworks, we are going to legalize them. What good would the insurance policy do? Won't that make the fireworks more expensive in Michigan? won't they still go to Indiana? Are you going to make the seller liable for misuse of the product? Are there any adults in our legislature?

 I (along with most middle-aged people) lit off plenty of fireworks. I never personally witnessed any injuries. Not saying it can't happen, but probably not as likely as one would think. Definitely not worthy of more freedom-imposing, do-nothing, feel-good legislation. I can't speak for everybody, but most people I know have had enough of the gov't telling them what they can and can't do. Legislation doesn't stop it anyway. Have we learned nothing from Prohibition? The only problem with this is the fees (taxes) and regulations attached.

 Smart move. Imposing all these fees and taxes on Michigan sellers will mean those near bordering states will drive there for cheaper fireworks and sue the deep pockets ( Michigan dealers with insurance) if a mishap occurs.

Too bad about some of the fees... Especialy the $10M insurance policy.  Seems like only the big boys (e.g. Phantom Fireworks) will be able to compete under these regulations.  My feeling is that it was a monopoly clause snuck in disguised as a liability issue.  Sure, most other states require insurance.... and about an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE less at that...

Cannot believe you would revise fireworks in Mi, just to raise money for the state, at least Ohio sells them but are not allowed to be use in their state. You put people at risk for the $$? which already has cause damage worth more than what the state can get out of it. You pass a law to wear seat belts, then revise a law where as its okay to light m-80's and throw out car windows makes a lot of sense to me. Think you should at least check with those that voted you in? Cannot believe you don't use more common sense on things that can effect a whole state because you think its a money maker. Kirk Rich

"m-80s" are still illegal. They aren't even considered fireworks by any authority. Now if you're talking about "those things that look like M-80s" they sell in fireworks stores, they are just tiny firecrackers in an oversized casing. Throwing ANYTHING out of a car window is also still illegal. This is the problem with the anti-fireworks community. Teaching safe and considerate use of fireworks to the public would have a far greater positive effect on fireworks safety than re-instating the ban. People like to complain and spread their fears and false information rather than educate themselves and get involved in real solutions.

What were you thinking? Fireworks have been illegal my entire 57 years of living in Michigan.  This 4th of July has been a nightmare.  Fireworks all day and night from every direction.  Inconsiderate neighbors are hard enough to deal with...now you've put fireworks in their hands.  We live in the city and houses are way too close for this. Dry and windy conditions. We're just waiting for the fire. Who's going to be around to put it out or pay for the repair.  The chances for harm is great!  In particular to the boneheads that are lighting one after another.  Who's counting the cost of this law in comparison to the revenue generated.  If you want to see fireworks, go to the public events.  The lawmakers where not thinking about anything but cash.  How desperate are we?  How about another casino? This decision ranks right up there we repealing the motor cycle helmet law.  Congratulations.  Another fine job well done. 

Stop whining! If you want to live in a state void of personal liberties, might I suggest NY or CA. 

A "state void of personal liberties"? Please tell me you're kidding with that ridiculous statement. Apparently, not allowing potentially dangerous fireworks into the hands of untrained residents constitutes in your eyes a "state void of personal liberties." Little did I know all the while I was growing up that I actually resided in a police state. What's next, "give me neighborhood-shaking explosives to set off all summer long for no reason, or give me death?" There is no constitutional right to buy, possess and to explode fireworks that can threaten public safety and affect the quality of life of a community. And that's exactly what the lawmakers who supported this foolish bill have put into place. As I write this - at 6:45 pm on July 7 - not the 4th, not the 3rd - very large explosions are taking place in our neighborhood as they have every night for a month. I see no reason they will stop as there are virtually no restrictions on this bill. House Bill 4293 is a nightmare for every Michigan resident who believes, crazily enough, that July 4 fireworks should be confined to the time period in and around the Fourth of July. As it is now, we've already had a month of dusk-to-dawn fireworks and it will continue ad nauseum. I will do my best to ensure that the idiots who voted for this bill do not return to office.

"neighborhood shaking explosions", if you mean that literally (and aren't just trying to dramatize the situation), are more than likely caused by salute cannons, thunder mugs or professional salutes (all things that were in no way part of the bill). Consumer fireworks don't shake houses, unless you light them off inside... Chances are your city already has ordinances against fireworks and noise. It's unfortunate that people have to be so inconsiderate to light stuff at those hours, but I have trouble believing legislation is to blame. Inconsiderate neighbors are to blame. It's just easier to direct your anger at a politician with a face than the random people lighting them who you've never even talked to. I personally haven't noticed an increase in fireworks usage from last year.

My point exactly cschenck. Prior to the change in the law, if people wanted them bad enough, all they had to do was cross the state line. 

Addressing your points one at a time:

“’neighborhood shaking explosions’, if you mean that literally…”

 

The explosions were felt through the walls of our house. Describe it as you will. 

 

“…but I have trouble believing legislation is to blame. Inconsiderate neighbors are to blame.”

 

This legislation made an array of loud explosives much more easily accessible to any idiot able to light a fuse. They were available before, of course, but the drive to Ohio or Indiana was an inconvenience and served as a deterrent of sorts (for some) and thus kept the numbers down. Many people didn’t want them bad enough to make the drive to the state line. This year, however, with fireworks stands everywhere, all hell broke loose in our area.      

 

“I personally haven't noticed an increase in fireworks usage from last year.”

 

Hard to believe, but, assuming you’re being truthful and are not connected to a fireworks dealer, etc., then I’m happy for you. Stay where you are. In my neighborhood, fireworks usage went from almost nil in previous years to nearly nightly for two weeks (and not limited to an hour or so like the professionals) as well as frequently during the day (yes, you read that right -  explosions during the day). But don’t take my word for it. Here’s an excerpt from a neighbor’s email to me that I received the evening of July 7: “I escaped to [another state] today, but I've been listening to the explosions for two weeks now. Absolutely nuts.  I agree with you about repealing the bill.  Also, I'd like to see a set limit on days fireworks can be set off. People who want quiet should have some rights. Luckily we got some rain.  Otherwise the idiots with the super fireworks would have set the whole area on fire.”

 

This bill needs to be repealed.

 

I definitely want to see changes. We had fireworks going off every day and night from June 29 to July 7. The neighborhood was actually quiet the night of July 8, but our next door neighbor was shooting rockets off in the middle of the street last night. July the 9th! I know it's all about money, but some of us do have to get up and go to work. I was more than a bit cranky after the 3rd night of explosives going off. Ten holidays and three "legal" days is also too many days for fireworks. Stick with possibly Memorial Day, 4th of July (only the 4th), and possibly Labor Day. I should add that I had to get a huge group of people to move further away from our house. We have common land behind us, and major fireworks (tubes nailed to boards, etc.) were being shot off about 100 feet away. On grass. Dry grass. Idiot spectators were only about 20 feet away. I looked out of a back window and saw the guys dancing away from the sparks. At least the spectators moved further away. Anyway, last night was the last straw. People are getting hostile. Actually, people are getting pissed. Our next door neighbor quit when about 8 of us came outside to see who was making the noise.

Again, if you felt it through the walls of your house, the explosions were not caused by legal consumer fireworks. That's something a 3" canister salute would do. I can say for certain that this bill did not make it any easier to obtain those. I can see fireworks use going up near retailers, so I can't really disagree with this. I have to admit that the areas where I've spent my summer thus far have not been near a retailer. Again I'm only referring to consumer fireworks, though. I am simply a hobbyist that would like to enjoy my hobby without the idiots ruining it for the rest of us. If your town has local ordinances against noise and/or fireworks, they can enforce them with expensive tickets (I've heard as high as $600!) I find it unfortunate that it has to come to that... but if that keeps the idiots from lighting stuff at inappropriate times I say the authorities should have at it. Heck, they might even begin to like the revenue! Really why I care: before the bill you had to apply for a permit to shoot consumer fireworks. The possibility of getting a ticket was usually not a big deal, but it's a good piece of mind to be "legit" because you know that in the off chance that there is a fire or mishap, damages will be covered by insurance. Maybe I'm being naive, but perhaps there's a way to solve this problem without killing the bill, even if it has to be by stepping up enforcement of local ordinances.

 Hi I am A Viet Nam Veteran I heard all the explosions and bombs i want to hear while I was in Viet Nam. I don't complain

about much but when you pass a law and it disturbs my life then you need to repeal it. I have heard fire works

 every day and night since Memorial Day. I have had it you need to change the law back and right now. I have a

 Little dog that is 1 year old he has a nervous break down every time he hears a fire cracker. If he happens to die

sometime over this stupid law. I will have to insure real justice is done

Make sure your representative and senator in the state legislature hear from you, as they likely voted for this bill. They need to know about the nightmare this has created for so many of their constituents. They heard from me. Also let your local authorities and decision-makers know how you feel - ASAP.

Our pets have suffered from the noise as well. Our daughter's dog was panting and shaking as the noise went on night after night. 

But last night was the final straw. At our county fair a little girl nearly lost control of her horse after it was startled by very loud fireworks set off by some idiot across the street. (On July 10 – nearly a full week after the Fourth of July!) Other horses reacted as well. I don't want to think about what could have happened if those horses had gotten out of control with those young kids all around.   

     

 I returned home from Afghanistan in January of this year with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  This "July 4th season" which started in early June has been a nightmare for me.  The night of July 4th had me emotionally trying to find a bunker in my home.  What success I've had with neuro-feedback therapy has been destroyed and the PTSD has worsened.  The fireworks have been non-stop.  Like many of you mentioned, there was no concern about what time they fired them off. They were still blowing them off at 3:30 am on Sunday/Monday.

Last night was the first night with no fireworks.  I wonder if the police that I called on July 12th were finally able to apprehend the idiot(s) who was breaking the law.   I've lived in Western Michigan for 3+ years now and have never heard any fireworks like what we experienced this year.

The saddest part is when I looked at the list of politicians who voted for this law.  It was the MAJORITY - only 10 dissenters.  I'm stunned that in a state where so many people are unemployed, losing their homes, finding it hard to feed their families or buy school supplies, a large number were able to spend a fortune on the fireworks because they could NOW buy them in MICHIGAN.  None of the politicians or residents who were firing the explosives seemed to the rights of a parent trying to quiet their child, the effect on animals and then there are us veterans who don't want to remember the sound or the sights. 

The City of Holland Police expressed outrage that their hands were tied.  I was unable to file a complaint until I was physically able to go outside, find the people who were shooting off the fireworks and point them out to the police.  The City did not have enough time to put in place sound and time ordinances based on this new law.   

I will be making my objection very strongly to every democrat and republican whether they're in my zone or not.  My life was already turned upside down this year, I didn't need to be flipped over and over again and then have the hole dug deeper.

I am so sorry! Be glad that you don't live where I do. I thought the fireworks were done when our next door neighbor shot some off Monday night. I was wrong - we got yet another major display last night (yes, Friday, July 13!) a few blocks away. I gave in and called the police. I spent a few minutes on the web and contacted the governor, my senator, Carl Levin (why not), and every single representative. I found a list of all representatives and it took minutes to copy it into Word, remove all columns except the e-mail one, convert it to text, put a comma at the end of each e-mail address, and remove all hard returns. I also e-mailed the Ypsilanti township officials.

I fully intend to let my Representative and Senator hear from me and let them know how I feel.

cschenck has made many objective points and you seem completely closed minded to those points.  That is truely unfortunate, but not terribly surprising.  The things you describe were not the result of devices now permitted under the new law.  Doesn't this fact mean anything to you?  The new law specifically limits fireworks to consumer grade, as defined and regulated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission.  These simple facts demonstrate that the assumption of a cause and effect relationship between the new law and the use of those devices in your neighborhood is not correct.  M-80's, cherry bombs, and silver salutes have been illegal everywhere in the US since 1966.  Michigan's new law could not and did not change that, so if these devices are being discharged in your neighborhood over the past few weeks a crime has been committed that Michigan's new law has nothing to do with.

Falsely blaming the new law for such things and blindly calling for it's repeal is certainly your right, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do.  I do hope that a reasonable and objective conversation can take place in the Legislature.

The vast majority of the disturbances in my area have been from fireworks allowed under the new law. They continued throughout this past weekend - more than a week after the Fourth. There appears to be no end to the fireworks season. Our dogs are having nervous breakdowns and we are losing our quiet summer nights. Everyone in my neighborhood is getting angrier and angrier about this. Again, the vast majority of fireworks disrupting the peace of our neighborhood are the newly legal ones.

I have trouble believing this because of your "house shaking explosions" statement that you stuck by for several posts here. As ANY fireworks professional or hobbyist will tell you, there is no possible way those were caused by consumer 'works. I understand that consumer fireworks can be loud and annoying, but it's unfair and ignorant to attribute massive house shaking explosions to them. In the works is some legislation to help enforce fireworks curfews and day restrictions. I'm hoping for a compromise that cuts down on the random 2AM fireworks while not affecting the responsible and courteous users too much...

 At no point did I state that the disturbances were exclusively of the house-shaking variety. Those were simply the most powerful. While we did indeed have quite a few of those, the majority of the noise over the past several weeks has come from the newly legal fireworks.      

 MIGuy - I find your need to be "right" sad.  I, along with so many others, are proof that the fireworks were beyond acceptable this year.  House shaking also applies to the excessive amounts of fireworks going off at the same time - there are reverberations that occur -- just like a rocket attack.  As Steve 13333 says, they were powerful and they were the new legal fireworks.

I don't want to get into a pissing match over this.  I'll take it up with the politicians, mayors, police and fire department heads.  I've avoided staying out of the conversation line here other than to simply state my opinion and feelings.  Please respect that they are truly that ... mine.

There are a couple of important observations that I believe are relevant to the discussion here and relate directly to the relationship between the new law and the difficulties you are experiencing in your neighborhood.

The new law impacts the day of, the day before, and the day after federal holidays.  Local authorities have every right to enforce ordinances on days other than those, and that doesn't appear to be happening in your case.  The law specifically defines the fireworks season as these days, so it does end as written and the obnoxious clown(s) that are disrupting the quiet enjoyment of your property can and should be held accountable.  Objectively speaking, the new law is not to blame and I'd be the first person to stand behind you and defend your right to peace and quiet two weeks after the holiday.

I have certainly observed a lot of M-80 detonation around me, and they are startling reports to say the least.  None of the newly permitted fireworks sound like these things and they are still illegal, not to mention dangerous.. II would bet my house that this is happening in your neighborhood too.  These devices are not permitted on any day, under any circumstances and objectively speaking, the new law (as it's written) is not to blame for this either.

I really do hope your local authorities will exercise the power that they already have and return your peaceful neighborhood to you.

I have not now, nor have I ever attempted to deny you or anyone else their right to their opinion.  I spent a great many years defending that right and a few words typed in a comment post will certainly not shake my committment to fundamental principles.

I have shown you no disrespect and it is not in my character to do so.

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