1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public safety; regulating fireworks; 
  1.3             modifying the definitions of the term fireworks; 
  1.4             permitting sale of certain fireworks; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.20, subdivision 
  1.6             1, and by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for 
  1.7             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 624. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.20, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  As used in sections 624.20 to 624.25, the 
  1.12  term "fireworks" means any substance or combination of 
  1.13  substances or article prepared for the purpose of producing a 
  1.14  visible or an audible effect by combustion, explosion, 
  1.15  deflagration, or detonation, and includes blank cartridges, toy 
  1.16  cannons, and toy canes in which explosives are used, the type of 
  1.17  balloons which require fire underneath to propel them, 
  1.18  firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, Roman candles, daygo bombs, 
  1.19  sparklers, or other fireworks of like construction, and any 
  1.20  fireworks containing any explosive or inflammable compound, or 
  1.21  any tablets or other device containing any explosive substance 
  1.22  and commonly used as fireworks.  The term "fireworks" shall not 
  1.23  include toy pistols, toy guns, in which paper caps containing 
  1.24  25/100 grains or less of explosive compound are used and toy 
  1.25  pistol caps which contain less than 20/100 grains of explosive 
  1.26  mixture. 
  2.1      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.20, is 
  2.2   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  Any regulation of fireworks by a governmental 
  2.4   body that is different from sections 624.20 to 624.25 is not 
  2.5   valid. 
  2.6      Sec. 3.  [624.211] [PERMITTED FIREWORKS.] 
  2.7      Subdivision 1.  [SALE, POSSESSION, AND USE.] Sections 
  2.8   624.20 to 624.25 shall not prohibit the advertisement, sale, at 
  2.9   retail or wholesale, possession, or use of the following 
  2.10  fireworks: 
  2.11     (1) explosive caps designed to be fired in toy pistols, 
  2.12  provided that the explosive mixture of the explosive caps shall 
  2.13  not exceed twenty-five hundredths of a grain for each cap; 
  2.14     (2) snake and glow worms composed of pressed pellets of a 
  2.15  pyrotechnic mixture that produce a large, snake-like ash when 
  2.16  burning; 
  2.17     (3) smoke devices consisting of a tube or sphere containing 
  2.18  a pyrotechnic mixture that produces white or colored smoke; 
  2.19     (4) trick noisemakers that produce a small report designed 
  2.20  to surprise the user and that include: 
  2.21     (i) a party popper, which is a small plastic or paper item 
  2.22  containing not in excess of 16 milligrams of explosive mixture.  
  2.23  A string protruding from the device is pulled to ignite the 
  2.24  device, expelling paper streamers and producing a small report; 
  2.25     (ii) a string popper, which is a small tube containing not 
  2.26  in excess of 16 milligrams of explosive mixture with string 
  2.27  protruding from both ends.  The strings are pulled to ignite the 
  2.28  friction-sensitive mixture, producing a small report; and 
  2.29     (iii) a snapper or drop pop, which is a small, 
  2.30  paper-wrapped item containing no more than 16 milligrams of 
  2.31  explosive mixture coated on small bits of sand.  When dropped, 
  2.32  the device produces a small report; 
  2.33     (5) wire sparklers consisting of wire or stick coated with 
  2.34  nonexplosive pyrotechnic mixture that produces a shower of 
  2.35  sparks upon ignition.  These items must not exceed 100 grams of 
  2.36  mixture per item; and 
  3.1      (6) other sparkling devices that emit showers of sparks and 
  3.2   sometimes a whistling or crackling effect when burning, do not 
  3.3   detonate or explode, do not spin, are hand-held or ground-based, 
  3.4   cannot propel themselves through the air, and contain not more 
  3.5   than 75 grams of chemical compound per tube, or not more than a 
  3.6   total of 200 grams if multiple tubes are used. 
  3.7      Subd. 2.  [REGULATION.] The fire marshal shall regulate the 
  3.8   advertising, sale, possession, and use of fireworks under the 
  3.9   powers granted him under section 299F.011, subdivision 3. 
  3.10     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.11     Sections 1 to 3 are effective January 1, 1996.