A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 23-35-10 so as to regulate the manufacture, sale, transport, use and display of PYROTECHNICs; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 23-35-45, RELATING TO USE OF PYROTECHNIC MATERIALS INDOORS, so as to provide additional restriction on their use.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 35, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 23-35-10.  (A) As contained in this section:

       (1) "Concert or public exhibition" means a fair, carnival, show of any description, or public celebration.

       (2) "Display operator" means a person issued a display operator's license by the State Fire Marshall.

       (3) "Pyrotechnics" means fireworks and explosives, which are used for exhibitions or amusement purposes.

    (B) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for any individual, firm, partnership, or corporation to manufacture, purchase, sell, deal in, transport, possess, receive, advertise, use, handle, exhibit, or discharge any pyrotechnics within the State.

    (C) It is permissible for pyrotechnics to be exhibited, used, handled, manufactured, or discharged within the State, provided:

       (1) the exhibition, use, or discharge is at a concert, or public exhibition;

       (2) all individuals who exhibit, use, handle, or discharge pyrotechnics in connection with a concert or public exhibition have completed training and licensing required under state law;

       (3) the display operator or proximate audience display operator is present at the concert or public exhibition and personally directs all aspects of exhibiting, using, handling, or discharging the pyrotechnics. Notwithstanding this subsection, the display operator for any university or college may appoint an on-site representative to supervise any performances that include a proximate audience display after the opening performance, provided that the representative is at least twenty-one years of age and is trained properly in the safe discharge of proximate audience displays; and

       (4) the display operator has secured written authority from the appropriate county or city council in which the pyrotechnics are to be exhibited, used, or discharged. Written authority from a county or city council is not required for a concert or public exhibition provided that the display operator has secured written authority from a university or college.

    (D) It is not unlawful for a common carrier to receive, transport, and deliver pyrotechnics in the regular course of its business.

    (E) Pyrotechnics may be exhibited, used, handled, manufactured, or discharged within the State as a special effect by a production company, or for a motion picture production, if the motion picture set is closed to the public or is separated from the public by a minimum distance of five hundred feet.

    (F) Pyrotechnics may be exhibited, used, handled, manufactured, or discharged within the State for pyrotechnic or proximate audience display instruction consisting of classroom and practical skills training approved by the State Fire Marshal.

    (G) It is unlawful for any individual, firm, partnership, or corporation to sell pyrotechnics to persons under the age of sixteen.

    (H) When the sale or purchase of pyrotechnics is made, and the delivery is made by a common or other carrier, the sale is deemed to have been made in the county where the delivery was made by the carrier to the consignee.

    (I) Possession of pyrotechnics by any person, for any purpose other than those permitted under this section, shall be inferred to be pyrotechnics that are kept for the purpose of being manufactured, sold, bartered, exchanged, given away, received, furnished, otherwise disposed of, or used in violation of the provisions of this section.

    (J) A county council may issue permits for use in connection with the conduct of concerts or public exhibitions after satisfactory evidence is produced to show that the pyrotechnics will be used for the aforementioned purposes and no other purpose. However, a permit is not required for a public exhibition authorized by a university or college.

    (K) A county council may issue or delegate its authority to issue permits for pyrotechnics to be exhibited, used, or discharged within the corporate limits of a city for use in connection with the conduct of concerts or public exhibitions. The county council may adopt a resolution granting the authority to the city, and it shall remain in effect until withdrawn by the county council adopting a subsequent resolution withdrawing the authority. If a city lies in more than one county, each county in which the city lies must adopt an authorizing resolution. If any county in which the city lies withdraws the authority of the city to issue permits for the use of pyrotechnics, the authority of the city to issue permits for the use of pyrotechnics ends, and all counties within which the city lies must resume their authority to issue the permits.

    (L) For indoor use of pyrotechnics at a concert or public exhibition, a county or city council may not issue a permit unless the local fire marshal or the State Fire Marshal certifies that:

       (1) adequate fire suppression will be used at the site;

       (2) the structure is safe for the use of the pyrotechnics with the type of fire suppression to be used; and

       (3) adequate egress from the building is available based on the size of the expected attendance.

    (M) A county or city council shall not issue a permit under this section unless the display operator provides proof of insurance in the amount of at least five hundred thousand dollars. A county or city council may require proof of insurance that exceeds this requirement.

    (N) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the manufacture, purchase, sale, transportation, and use of explosives or signaling flares used in the course of ordinary business or industry, or shells or cartridges used as ammunition in firearms. This section shall not apply to the sale, use, or possession of:

       (1) explosive caps designed to be fired in toy pistols, provided that the explosive mixture of the explosive caps shall not exceed twenty-five hundredths of a gram for each cap;

       (2) snake and glow worms composed of pressed pellets of a pyrotechnic mixture that produce a large, snake-like ash when burning;

       (3) smoke devices consisting of a tube or sphere containing a pyrotechnic mixture that produces white or colored smoke;

       (4) trick noisemakers which produce a small report designed to surprise the user and which include:

           (a) a party popper, which is a small plastic or paper item containing not in excess of sixteen milligrams of explosive mixture. A string protruding from the device is pulled to ignite the device, expelling paper streamers and producing a small report;

           (b) a string popper, which is a small tube containing not in excess of sixteen milligrams of explosive mixture with string protruding from both ends. The strings are pulled to ignite the friction-sensitive mixture, producing a small report; or

           (c) a snapper or drop pop, which is a small, paper-wrapped item containing no more than sixteen milligrams of explosive mixture coated on small bits of sand. When dropped, the device produces a small report;

       (5) wire sparklers consisting of wire or sticks coated with nonexplosive pyrotechnic mixture that produces a shower of sparks upon ignition. These items must not exceed one hundred grams of mixture per item; or

       (6) other sparkling devices which emit showers of sparks and sometimes a whistling or crackling effect when burning, do not detonate or explode, do not spin, are hand-held or ground-based, cannot propel themselves through the air, and contain no more than seventy-five grams of chemical compound per tube or no more than a total of two hundred grams if multiple tubes are used.

 

SECTION 2.  Section 23-35-45 of the S.C. Code 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 edition and Section 23-35-10. 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.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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