STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10141
IN ASSEMBLY
June 16, 2014
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Morelle) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, the executive law and the general busi-
ness law, in relation to fireworks, dangerous fireworks and sparkling
devices; and to repeal certain provisions of the penal law relating
thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 270.00 of the penal law
2 are REPEALED and three new subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 are added to read as
3 follows:
4 1. Definition of "fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks". (a) The term
5 "fireworks," as used in this section, includes:
6 (i) display fireworks, which means fireworks devices in a finished
7 state, exclusive of mere ornamentation, primarily intended for commer-
8 cial displays which are designed to produce visible and/or audible
9 effects by combustion, deflagration or detonation, including, but not
10 limited to, salutes containing more than one hundred thirty milligrams
11 (two grains) of explosive composition, aerial shells containing more
12 than forty grams of chemical composition exclusive of lift charge, and
13 other exhibition display items that exceed the limits of consumer fire-
14 works contained in the American Pyrotechnic Association (APA) Standard
15 87-1, 2001 edition;
16 (ii) articles pyrotechnic, which means pyrotechnic devices for profes-
17 sional use similar to consumer fireworks in chemical composition and
18 construction but not intended for consumer use and which articles meet
19 the weight limits for consumer fireworks but are not labeled as such and
20 are classified by the United States department of transportation in 49
21 CFR 172.101 as UN0431;
22 (iii) special effects, which means any combination of chemical
23 elements or chemical compounds capable of burning independently of the
24 oxygen of the atmosphere, and designed and intended to produce an audi-
25 ble, visual, mechanical, or thermal effect as an integral part of a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15633-03-4
A. 10141 2
1 motion picture, radio, television, theatrical, or opera production, or
2 live entertainment;
3 (iv) consumer fireworks which are aerial in performance and are
4 commonly referred to as sky rockets, bottle rockets, missile type rock-
5 ets, helicopters, aerial spinners, roman candles, mines, shell devices,
6 aerial shell kits, reloadables and audible ground devices which are
7 commonly referred to as firecrackers and chasers, as well as metal wire
8 handheld sparklers;
9 (v) any blank cartridge, blank cartridge pistol, or toy cannon in
10 which explosives are used, firecrackers, or any preparation containing
11 any explosive or inflammable compound or any tablets or other device
12 commonly used and sold as fireworks containing nitrates, chlorates,
13 oxalates, sulphides of lead, barium, antimony, arsenic, mercury, nitro-
14 glycerine, phosphorus or any compound containing any of the same or
15 other explosives, or any substance or combination of substances, or
16 article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or an audible
17 effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration or detonation, or other
18 device containing any explosive substance, other than sparkling devices
19 as defined in subparagraph (vi) of this paragraph; and
20 (vi) "sparkling devices," as used in this section, includes:
21 (1) sparkling devices which are ground-based or hand-held devices that
22 produce a shower of white, gold, or colored sparks as their primary
23 pyrotechnic effect. Additional effects may include a colored flame, an
24 audible crackling effect, an audible whistle effect, and smoke. These
25 devices do not rise into the air, do not fire inserts or projectiles
26 into the air, and do not explode or produce a report (an audible crack-
27 ling-type effect is not considered to be a report). Ground-based or
28 hand-held devices that produce a cloud of smoke as their sole pyrotech-
29 nic effect are also included in this category. Types of devices in this
30 category include:
31 (A) cylindrical fountain: cylindrical tube containing not more than
32 seventy-five grams of pyrotechnic composition that may be contained in a
33 different shaped exterior such as a square, rectangle, cylinder or other
34 shape but the interior tubes are cylindrical in shape. Upon ignition, a
35 shower of colored sparks, and sometimes a whistling effect or smoke, is
36 produced. This device may be provided with a spike for insertion into
37 the ground (spike fountain), a wood or plastic base for placing on the
38 ground (base fountain), or a wood or cardboard handle to be hand held
39 (handle fountain). When more than one tube is mounted on a common base,
40 total pyrotechnic composition may not exceed two hundred grams, and when
41 tubes are securely attached to a base and the tubes are separated from
42 each other on the base by a distance of at least half an inch (12.7
43 millimeters), a maximum total weight of five hundred grams of pyrotech-
44 nic composition shall be allowed.
45 (B) cone fountain: cardboard or heavy paper cone containing not more
46 than fifty grams of pyrotechnic composition. The effect is the same as
47 that of a cylindrical fountain. When more than one cone is mounted on a
48 common base, total pyrotechnic composition may not exceed two hundred
49 grams, as is outlined in this subparagraph.
50 (C) wooden sparkler/dipped stick: these devices consist of a wood
51 dowel that has been coated with pyrotechnic composition. Upon ignition
52 of the tip of the device, a shower of sparks is produced. Sparklers may
53 contain up to one hundred grams of pyrotechnic composition per item.
54 (2) novelties which do not require approval from the United States
55 department of transportation and are not regulated as explosives,
56 provided that they are manufactured and packaged as described below:
A. 10141 3
1 (A) party popper: small devices with paper or plastic exteriors that
2 are actuated by means of friction (a string or trigger is typically
3 pulled to actuate the device). They frequently resemble champagne
4 bottles or toy pistols in shape. Upon activation, the device expels
5 flame-resistant paper streamers, confetti, or other novelties and
6 produces a small report. Devices may contain not more than sixteen
7 milligrams (0.25 grains) of explosive composition, which is limited to
8 potassium chlorate and red phosphorus. These devices must be packaged in
9 an inner packaging which contains a maximum of seventy-two devices.
10 (B) snapper: small, paper-wrapped devices containing not more than one
11 milligram of silver fulminate coated on small bits of sand or gravel.
12 When dropped, the device explodes, producing a small report. Snappers
13 must be in inner packages not to exceed fifty devices each, and the
14 inner packages must contain sawdust or a similar, impact-absorbing mate-
15 rial.
16 (b) The term "dangerous fireworks" means any fireworks capable of
17 causing serious physical injury and which are: firecrackers containing
18 more than fifty milligrams of any explosive substance, torpedoes,
19 skyrockets and rockets including all devices which employ any combusti-
20 ble or explosive substance and which rise in the air during discharge,
21 Roman candles, and bombs, provided, however, that in cities with a popu-
22 lation of one million or more, the term "dangerous fireworks" shall also
23 include sparklers more than ten inches in length or one-fourth of one
24 inch in diameter, or chasers including all devices which dart or travel
25 about the surface of the ground during discharge.
26 (c) "Fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks" shall not be deemed to
27 include the following nor shall the purchase and use of any items listed
28 below be subject to the provisions of section 61 of title 12 of the New
29 York state codes, rules and regulations or section four hundred eighty,
30 four hundred eighty-one, four hundred eighty-two or four hundred eight-
31 y-three of the general business law:
32 (i) flares of the type used by railroads or any warning lights common-
33 ly known as red flares, or marine distress signals of a type approved by
34 the United States coast guard, or
35 (ii) toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns or other devices in which paper
36 caps containing twenty-five hundredths grains or less of explosive
37 compound are used, providing they are so constructed that the hand
38 cannot come in contact with the cap when in place for use, and toy
39 pistol paper caps which contain less than twenty-hundredths grains of
40 explosive mixture, the sale and use of which shall be permitted at all
41 times, or
42 (iii) bank security devices which contain not more than fifty grams of
43 any compound or substance or any combination thereof, together with an
44 igniter not exceeding 0.2 gram, capable of producing a lachrymating
45 and/or visible or audible effect, where such device is stored or used
46 only by banks, national banking associations, trust companies, savings
47 banks, savings and loan associations, industrial banks, or credit
48 unions, or by any manufacturer, wholesaler, dealer, jobber or common
49 carrier for such devices and where the total storage on any one premises
50 does not exceed one hundred devices, or
51 (iv) except in cities with a population of one million or more, in
52 those counties and cities that opt by local law pursuant to paragraph
53 (b) of subdivision five of section 405.00 of this chapter, "fireworks"
54 and "dangerous fireworks" shall not be deemed to include "sparkling
55 devices" as defined in subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (a) of this subdi-
56 vision.
A. 10141 4
1 2. Offense. (a) Except as herein otherwise provided, or except where a
2 permit is obtained pursuant to section 405.00 of this chapter:
3 (i) any person who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or furnish,
4 any fireworks or dangerous fireworks is guilty of a class B misdemeanor;
5 (ii) any person who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or furnish
6 any fireworks or dangerous fireworks valued at five hundred dollars or
7 more shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor;
8 (iii) any person who shall possess, use, explode or cause to explode
9 any fireworks or dangerous fireworks is guilty of a violation;
10 (iv) any person who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or furnish,
11 any dangerous fireworks, fireworks or sparkling devices to any person
12 who is under the age of eighteen is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
13 (b) A person who has previously been convicted of a violation of
14 subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision within the
15 preceding five years and who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or
16 furnish, any dangerous fireworks to any person who is under the age of
17 eighteen, shall be guilty of a class E felony.
18 (c) Possession of fireworks or dangerous fireworks valued at one
19 hundred fifty dollars or more shall be a presumption that such fireworks
20 were intended to be offered or exposed for sale.
21 3. Exceptions. (a) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
22 (i) fireworks, dangerous fireworks, and sparkling devices while in
23 possession of railroads, common or contract carriers, retailers, whole-
24 salers, distributors, jobbers and transportation companies or transpor-
25 tation agencies for the purpose of transportation to points without the
26 state, the shipment of which is not prohibited by interstate commerce
27 commission regulations as formulated and published from time to time,
28 unless they be held voluntarily by such railroads, common or contract
29 carriers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, jobbers and transporta-
30 tion agencies or transporting companies as warehousemen for delivery to
31 points within the state;
32 (ii) signaling devices used by railroad companies or motor vehicles
33 referred to in subdivision seventeen of section three hundred seventy-
34 five of the vehicle and traffic law;
35 (iii) high explosives for blasting or similar purposes;
36 (iv) fireworks, dangerous fireworks and sparkling devices for the use
37 thereof by the United States military, and departments of the state and
38 federal government;
39 (v) the use, transportation and storage of fireworks, dangerous fire-
40 works and sparkling devices and special effects materials in connection
41 with the production of motion pictures, television programs, commer-
42 cials, and all entertainment media recorded in any current or to be
43 designed format when such use, transportation and storage has been
44 appropriately permitted by the local governmental subdivision having
45 jurisdiction.
46 (b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit:
47 (i) any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, dealer or jobber from
48 manufacturing, possessing or selling at wholesale a sparkling device to
49 municipalities, religious or civic organizations, fair associations,
50 amusement parks, or other organizations authorized by the state to
51 store, transport, possess and use or to individuals to store, transport,
52 possess and use;
53 (ii) the sale or use of blank cartridges for a motion picture, tele-
54 vision program, commercial and all entertainment media, or for signal
55 purposes in athletic sports, or for dog trials or dog training;
A. 10141 5
1 (iii) the use, storage, transportation or sale or transfer for use of
2 fireworks and sparkling devices in the preparation for or in connection
3 with motion pictures, television programs, commercials, and all enter-
4 tainment media recorded in any current or to be designed format when
5 such use, transportation and storage has been appropriately permitted by
6 the local governmental subdivision having jurisdiction;
7 (iv) the manufacture or sale of sparkling devices provided they are to
8 be shipped directly out of such city and any such items are sold in
9 accordance with the provisions of this article; or
10 (v) except in cities with a population of one million or more,
11 possession of sparkling devices lawfully obtained in a jurisdiction that
12 did opt by local law pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision five of
13 section 405.00 of this chapter to exclude "sparkling devices" from the
14 definitions of "fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks", for the purpose of
15 lawful use in another jurisdiction that did opt by local law pursuant to
16 paragraph (b) of subdivision five of section 405.00 of this chapter to
17 exclude "sparkling devices" from the definitions of "fireworks" and
18 "dangerous fireworks". The superintendent of state police shall annually
19 publish a list of those jurisdictions that have opted by local law
20 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision five of section 405.00 of this
21 chapter to exclude "sparkling devices" from the definitions of "fire-
22 works" and "dangerous fireworks".
23 § 2. Subdivision 5 of section 405.00 of the penal law, as amended by
24 chapter 127 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
25 5. Local ordinances superseded. (a) All local ordinances regulating or
26 prohibiting the display of fireworks are hereby superseded by the
27 provisions of this section. Every city, town or village shall have the
28 power to enact ordinances or local laws regulating or prohibiting the
29 use, or the storage, transportation or sale for use of fireworks in the
30 preparation for or in connection with television broadcasts.
31 (b) Further, no city or county shall be bound to include "sparkling
32 device" in the definitions of "fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks" in
33 section 270.00 of this chapter, if such city or county shall so author-
34 ize the exemption of "sparkling device" by law. If any such city or
35 county so elects, it and such other local jurisdictions that lie within
36 its geographical boundaries shall not enact any other local law that is
37 inconsistent with the provisions of subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (c)
38 of subdivision one of section 270.00 of this chapter, nor to regulate
39 sparkling devices in a manner that is in conflict with the provisions of
40 NFPA 1124, 2006 edition.
41 § 3. Subdivision 20 of section 156 of the executive law, as renumbered
42 by chapter 127 of the laws of 2013, is renumbered subdivision 21 and a
43 new subdivision 20 is added to read as follows:
44 20. Register the manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers
45 and seasonal retailers of sparkling devices who wish to do business
46 within the state.
47 § 4. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 156-h to
48 read as follows:
49 § 156-h. Registration and fees for manufacturers, distributors, whole-
50 salers, and retailers of sparkling devices. 1. Definitions. As used in
51 this section, the term:
52 (a) "Distributor" means any person or entity engaged in the business
53 of selling sparkling devices to wholesalers, specialty retailers, perma-
54 nent retailers or temporary seasonal retailers for resale.
55 (b) "Manufacturer" means any person or entity engaged in the manufac-
56 ture or construction of sparkling devices.
A. 10141 6
1 (c) "Specialty retailer" means any person or entity who, at a fixed
2 place of business, is engaged solely in selling sparkling devices at
3 retail. For purposes of this section, a person or entity is engaged
4 solely in selling sparkling devices if fifty-one percent or more of such
5 person's or entity's annual gross sales are from the sale of sparkling
6 devices.
7 (d) "Permanent retailer" means any person or entity who, at a fixed
8 place of business, is engaged in selling sparkling devices at retail.
9 (e) "Sparkling devices" means any item defined in subparagraph (vi) of
10 paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 270.00 of the penal law.
11 (f) "Temporary seasonal retailer" means any person or entity who, at a
12 temporary stand or tent, is engaged in selling sparkling devices from
13 June twentieth through July fifth or from December tenth through January
14 second of each year at retail.
15 (g) "Wholesaler" means any person or entity engaged in the business of
16 selling sparkling devices to specialty retailers, permanent retailers or
17 temporary seasonal retailers at wholesale.
18 2. Registration requirements. Any manufacturer, distributor, whole-
19 saler, specialty retailer, permanent retailer or temporary seasonal
20 retailer of sparkling devices who wishes to do business in this state or
21 to otherwise sell, ship, or assign for sale its products in this state
22 must register annually with the office of fire prevention and control on
23 forms prescribed by such office. Any specialty retailer, permanent
24 retailer or temporary seasonal retailer that sells sparkling devices at
25 more than one retail location may submit one registration form for all
26 such locations but must provide the address of each location with the
27 registration form; however, any retailer may submit multiple registra-
28 tion forms.
29 3. Registration form. The registration form filed with the office of
30 fire prevention and control must be notarized and must include the
31 following information: business name; address; telephone number; offi-
32 cers, if the business is a corporation; and an individual designated as
33 a contact person.
34 4. Fees. (a) Each manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler must pay an
35 annual registration fee to be set by the office of fire prevention and
36 control not to exceed five thousand dollars. Each specialty retailer
37 must pay an annual registration fee to be set by such office not to
38 exceed two thousand five hundred dollars. Each permanent retailer shall
39 pay an annual registration fee to be set by such office not to exceed
40 two hundred dollars for each retail location registered. Each temporary
41 seasonal retailer must pay a registration fee to be set by such office
42 not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars per season. Each certificate-
43 holder wishing to have a duplicate certificate issued for one which is
44 lost or to reflect a change of address shall request such duplicate in
45 writing and shall pay a fee of five dollars.
46 (b) Revenue from registration fee payments shall be used for the
47 purposes of implementing firefighter safety and training programs as
48 well as registration and testing provisions of this chapter.
49 (c) No city, municipality or other local jurisdiction shall charge any
50 fee or require any permit whatsoever for the sale and use of sparkling
51 devices.
52 5. Record and reports. Each manufacturer, distributor and wholesaler
53 shall maintain and make available to the state fire administrator, upon
54 the state fire administrator's reasonable request, full and complete,
55 true, and accurate records showing the name and quantity of any sparkl-
A. 10141 7
1 ing device produced in, imported to, exported from, or sold in this
2 state.
3 6. Rules. The state fire administrator shall promulgate rules
4 prescribing registration forms required by this section.
5 § 5. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 392-j
6 to read as follows:
7 § 392-j. Sales of sparkling devices. 1. Sales of sparkling devices as
8 defined in subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
9 section 270.00 of the penal law shall be lawful only for business regis-
10 tered by the state under section one hundred fifty-six-h of the execu-
11 tive law between June first and July fifth or from December twenty-
12 sixth through January second of each year.
13 2. Failure to comply with this section shall be deemed an offense as
14 defined in subdivision two of section 270.00 of the penal law.
15 § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
16 have become a law.