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Georgians would no longer have to cross state borders to buy fireworks under legislation approved Monday in the state House.
By a vote of 119-49, the House approved House Bill 110, sponsored by Rep. Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla. It would lift the state ban on the sale of bottle rockets and other so-called consumer fireworks. Every state that borders Georgia, save North Carolina, allows the sale of fireworks, Roberts said, who expects the bill to generate 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs.
“We don’t allow but basically sparklers to be sold in the state of Georgia,” Roberts said. “This will broaden that definition to allow us to sell the same fireworks that are sold by all the surrounding states with the exception of North Carolina.”
HB 110 would allow businesses and nonprofits to pay a licensing fee and sell the popular explosives. The bill would also create a new excise tax of 5 percent on every sale, in addition to state and local sales taxes. Roberts said that if the bill passes, he will also sponsor a proposal seeking a constitutional amendment mandating the revenue from the tax go to fund trauma centers across the state.
Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, said the bill simply makes economic sense.
“In a state looking for new revenue, we’re sending way too much to Florida and South Carolina,” he said. “I have safety concerns. There are safety concerns for many, many things. Good judgment, parental supervision is always the answer there.”
But several other Democrats, including Reps. Margaret Kaiser of Atlanta and Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur, said the bill will lead to children being injured and even maimed.
Oliver said she's proud of Roberts for last week pushing through House Bill 170, the transportation funding bill, but she said HB 110 "is a bad bill."
“This bill historically has been called the ‘blow a child’s hand off bill,’ ” Oliver said.
David Tatum, vice president for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said he was disappointed in the vote.
“We’ve been fighting it off for 15 years,” Tatum said, noting that it’s odd to fund trauma care via a bill that will create more need for trauma care.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
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