SF 460

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 02/23/2012 08:48am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; authorizing limited personal use of fireworks; requiring
an affidavit of safety guidelines; providing for criminal penalties; appropriating
money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 624.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [624.222] FIREWORKS; LIMITED PERSONAL USE;
AUTHORIZATION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Limited personal use of fireworks. new text end

new text begin Notwithstanding sections
624.20 to 624.221 and 624.23 to 624.25, class 1.4G fireworks may be used or ignited for
personal use only. A retail seller may offer for sale, advertise, or sell 1.4G fireworks, as
defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, for personal use. All 1.4G fireworks held
for sale under this section must carry a label warning that personal use only is permitted.
Personal use of fireworks is not permitted on public property. Anyone selling 1.4G
fireworks under this section must post in a conspicuous location the following warning in
block letters not less than one inch in height: "FIREWORKS MAY BE PURCHASED
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 624.222."
A retail seller of 1.4G fireworks shall require each purchaser of 1.4G fireworks for limited
personal use to complete an application stating that the purchaser:
new text end

new text begin (1) is 18 years of age or older verified by a photograph identification;
new text end

new text begin (2) has received a copy of safety information for the use of fireworks;
new text end

new text begin (3) agrees to use the 1.4G fireworks in Minnesota only; and
new text end

new text begin (4) agrees to supervise and be responsible for any use of the 1.4G fireworks.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin License applications; fees. new text end

new text begin An application for a license to sell 1.4G
fireworks must be submitted to the state fire marshal by January 15 of each year on a form
prescribed and provided by the state fire marshal. A license shall be issued no later than
March 1 of each year. The license application shall be accompanied by an annual license
fee of $1,000. The fire marshal shall deposit the fee in the general fund. The fire marshal
shall annually inspect the facility to ensure that all requirements are met. A license may
not be issued to a convicted felon or to an entity where a convicted felon owns five percent
or more of the equity in the entity.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Exemption for novelty items. new text end

new text begin The sale of novelty items described
in section 624.20, subdivision 1, paragraphs (b) and (c), are exempt from the licensing
requirements under subdivision 2.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Facility operation requirements. new text end

new text begin A person operating a 1.4G fireworks
sales facility:
new text end

new text begin (1) may not permit smoking in the facility;
new text end

new text begin (2) may not permit cigarettes or tobacco products, matches, lighters, or other
flame-producing devices in the facility;
new text end

new text begin (3) may not permit minors in the facility unless the minor is accompanied by an
adult, and shall require that the minor stay with the adult in the facility;
new text end

new text begin (4) shall only sell 1.4G fireworks that comply with the United States Consumer
Product Safety Commission standards;
new text end

new text begin (5) shall carry at least $2,000,000 in personal and product liability insurance;
new text end

new text begin (6) may not store or locate class 1.3G fireworks at the facility;
new text end

new text begin (7) may not admit a person under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs into
the facility and may not permit liquor, beer, or wine in the facility;
new text end

new text begin (8) may not permit fireworks to be ignited within 300 feet of the facility;
new text end

new text begin (9) shall locate the facility no closer than 50 feet from any facility selling or
dispensing gasoline, propane, or other flammable products;
new text end

new text begin (10) shall conspicuously post emergency evacuation plans in appropriate locations
within the facility; and
new text end

new text begin (11) shall distribute information on the safe use of fireworks to all purchasers.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Fireworks safety guidelines. new text end

new text begin The state fire marshal shall distribute
information on 1.4G fireworks safety designed to ensure that personal use and ignition of
1.4G fireworks each year follows best fireworks safety practices.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Penalties. new text end

new text begin (a) A person who ignites, discharges, or uses 1.4G fireworks at a
site other than (1) the property of the person, or (2) the property of another who has given
permission to use the consumer fireworks, is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
new text end

new text begin (b) A person who commits an offense under paragraph (a) not later than five years
after the date of the commission of a prior offense under paragraph (a) is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
new text end

new text begin (c) A person commits a gross misdemeanor if the person recklessly, knowingly, or
intentionally uses consumer fireworks and it results in serious bodily injury to a person.
new text end

new text begin (d) A person commits a felony if the person recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally
uses consumer fireworks and it results in the death of a person.
new text end

new text begin (e) A person commits a felony if the person knowingly fails to collect or remit to
the state the public safety fees due under subdivision 7.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin User fees. new text end

new text begin (a) A user fee, known as the public safety fee, is imposed on
retail transactions of 1.4G fireworks made in Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin (b) The person who acquires 1.4G fireworks in a retail transaction is liable for the
public safety fee on the transaction and shall pay the public safety fee to the retailer as a
separate added amount to the consideration in the transaction. The retailer shall collect
and remit the public safety fees to the commissioner of public safety.
new text end

new text begin (c) Seventy percent of the public safety fee shall be paid to the general fund and
30 percent of the public safety fee shall be paid to the fire safety account in the special
revenue fund to be used for the following purposes:
new text end

new text begin (1) State Fire Marshal Division;
new text end

new text begin (2) Board of Firefighter Training Education; and
new text end

new text begin (3) fire service-related regional response team programs.
new text end

new text begin The Fire Service Advisory Committee shall determine the distribution of the funds
received by the department from the public safety fee.
new text end

new text begin (d) The public safety fee is measured by the gross retail income received by a retailer
in a retail unitary transaction of 1.4G fireworks and is imposed at the following rates:
new text end

new text begin PUBLIC SAFETY FEE new text end		new text begin GROSS RETAIL INCOME FROM THE RETAIL UNITARY TRANSACTION new text end
new text begin $0.00 new text end					new text begin less than new text end	new text begin $0.25 new text end
new text begin $0.01 new text end		new text begin at least new text end	new text begin $0.25 new text end		new text begin but less than new text end	new text begin $0.50 new text end
new text begin $0.02 new text end		new text begin at least new text end	new text begin $0.50 new text end		new text begin but less than new text end	new text begin $0.75 new text end
new text begin $0.03 new text end		new text begin at least new text end	new text begin $0.75 new text end		new text begin but less than new text end	new text begin $1.00 new text end
new text begin $0.04 new text end		new text begin at least new text end	new text begin $1.00 new text end

new text begin On a retail unitary transaction in which the gross retail income received by the retail
merchant is $1 or more, the public safety fee is four percent of that gross retail income.
new text end

new text begin (e) If the public safety fee computed under paragraph (d) results in a fraction of
one-half cent or more, the amount of the public safety fee shall be rounded to the next
additional cent.
new text end

new text begin (f) A retailer liable for collecting the public safety fee from a purchaser shall file a
return for each calendar month and pay the public safety fees that the retailer has collected
during that month. A retailer shall file the retailer's return for a particular month with the
department and make the retailer's payment of the public safety fees collected for that
month to the department not more than 30 days after the end of that month.
new text end

new text begin (g) Notwithstanding the 12 monthly reporting periods required by paragraph (f),
the department may permit a retailer to:
new text end

new text begin (1) divide a year into a different number of reporting periods, with the return and
payment for each reporting period due not more than 20 days after the end of the period; or
new text end

new text begin (2) report and pay the retailer's public safety fees for a period covering a calendar
year, if the retailer's public safety fee liability for a calendar year does not exceed $75, and
the retailer files the retailer's return and pays the retailer's public safety fee liability not later
than the last day of January immediately following the close of the prior calendar year.
new text end

new text begin (h) An individual retailer, or an employee, officer, or member of a corporate or
partnership retailer, who has a duty to remit the public safety fee under this subdivision to
the Department of Public Safety holds the public safety fees collected in trust for the state
and is personally liable for the payment of the public safety fee money to the state.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to crimes committed on or after that date.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $250,000 in fiscal year 2012 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of public safety to administer section 1.
new text end