South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006

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S. 636

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Campsen
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11577ac05.doc

Introduced in the Senate on March 16, 2005
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Pyrotechnics Deregulation Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   3/16/2005  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-7
   3/16/2005  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-7
   3/18/2005  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: Martin (ch), Moore, Ritchie, 
                        Malloy, Cromer, Campsen, Williams

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

3/16/2005

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO ENACT THE "PYROTECHNICS DEREGULATION ACT" BY AMENDING SECTION 23-35-45, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO INDOOR USE OF PYROTECHNICS, SO AS TO UPDATE THE EDITION THAT MUST BE UTILIZED IN SUCH USE OF PYROTECHNICS; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 23-35-50 AND 23-35-70, BOTH AS AMENDED, AND SECTIONS 23-36-140 AND 23-35-150, ALL RELATING TO VARIOUS RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF PYROTECHNIC SAFETY, SO AS TO TRANSFER THESE RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL AND TO PROVIDE THAT PYROTECHNIC LICENSES AND PERMITS MUST BE ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION; AND TO REPEAL CHAPTER 56, TITLE 40, RELATING TO THE CREATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF PYROTECHNIC SAFETY.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act may be cited as the "Pyrotechnics Deregulation Act".

SECTION    2.    Section 23-35-45 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 356 of 1994, is amended to read:

"Section 23-35-45.    Nothing in this chapter or in any other provision of law prohibits the use of pyrotechnic materials inside any enclosed entertainment or assembly area before proximate audiences when the indoor pyrotechnics are used in accordance with Standard 1126 of the National Fire Protection Association entitled 'Standard for the Use of Pyrotechnics Before a Proximate Audience', 1992 2001 edition. The State Fire Marshal Division of the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation is designated as the agency responsible for implementing, administering, and enforcing the provisions of this section, including the promulgation of necessary regulations. The State Fire Marshal Division also may establish fees which may be charged on a per performance or other basis to offset the cost of enforcing the provisions of this section, such fees to be the responsibility of the owner or operator of the establishment where the indoor pyrotechnics shall be used."

SECTION    3.    Section 23-35-50 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 303 of 2004, is further amended to read:

"Section 23-35-50.    (A)    Nothing in this chapter prohibits a licensed wholesale distributor from storing for sale where legal all Class 'B' fireworks used for display or agricultural purposes after first obtaining a license for that purpose from the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal. The cost of the license is seven hundred fifty dollars.

(B)    Agricultural and display fireworks must be stored in an appropriate building and a record of purchases and sales must be kept for inspection by the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal.

(C)    If Class 'B' fireworks used for display or agricultural purposes are returned to the wholesaler unused for any reason, the unused fireworks must be returned in the same manner they were sold, issued, or shipped, including any protective device attached to the fuse or fuses."

SECTION    4.    Section 23-35-70 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 23-35-70.    (1)    Each wholesale distributor of fireworks in this State is required to purchase an annual license from the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal at a cost of one thousand dollars which is subject to regulations of the Office of the State Fire Marshal's office Marshal governing storage of fireworks. A 'wholesale distributor' is defined as a person or firm selling fireworks to licensed jobbers or licensed retailers.

(2)    Each jobber selling fireworks in this State is required to purchase an annual license from the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal at a cost of four hundred dollars which is subject to regulations of the Office of the State Fire Marshal's office Marshal governing storage of fireworks. A 'jobber' is defined as a person or firm selling fireworks to licensed retailers.

(3)    Each retailer is required to procure an annual license or permit at a cost of fifty dollars which shall authorize the licensee to sell permissible fireworks. The license or permit must be obtained from the municipal clerk, or comparable municipal official, for retail sales within a municipality, after approval of the applicant and his place of business by the municipal fire chief serving such municipality; or, from the county clerk of court for retail sales in the county outside a municipality after approval of the applicant and his place of business by the county sheriff. No permit may be issued to an applicant until the premises where the fireworks are to be kept for the purpose of sale have been inspected and it is determined that the building and the facilities within the building meet safety standards for the storage and sale of permissible fireworks. The issuance of the permit is subject to regulations promulgated by the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal governing the storage, safekeeping, and sale of fireworks. No person or firm may be issued a retail license who is not already licensed by the State Department of Revenue for sales tax purposes and who has not held the sales tax license for at least sixty days. Permits issued to retailers must be prominently displayed. No permit provided for herein may be transferred nor shall a person be permitted to operate under a permit issued to any other person.

(4)    The respective licenses and permits must be issued on the form or forms as the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation may determine.

All funds derived from the sale of permits as prescribed in item (3) must be retained by the county or municipality collecting the funds."

SECTION    5.    Section 23-35-150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 23-35-150.    Any person violating any provisions of this chapter or regulations promulgated by the State Fire Marshal or the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety, unless otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished:

(1)    for a first offense, by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days;

(2)    for a second offense, by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than twenty-five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not less than sixty days, or both;

(3)    for a third offense, by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars or imprisonment of not less than ninety days nor more than one year, or both.

In addition to the above penalties, the license of any wholesaler, jobber, or retailer must be permanently revoked upon conviction for a third offense."

SECTION    6.    Section 23-36-140(2) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(2)    Nothing contained in this chapter applies to the use of fireworks or to the sale or storage of fireworks as regulated by the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal."

SECTION    7.    Chapter 56, Title 40 of the 1976 Code is repealed.

SECTION    8.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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