Testimony of Joe Posey - HB 253, Fireworks Legalization and Regulation (February 5, 2020)

Summary

Testimony of Joe Posey on HB 253—Fireworks Legalization and Regulation, dated February 5, 2020, written testimony in opposition to House Bill 253, addressed to Chairman Manning, Vice Chair Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan and Members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee. The testimony states that Joe Posey was a Fire Department Lieutenant for 28 years and an Ohio peace officer for 10 years. It states that the current ban on discharge is not enforced, and describes transport and storage requirements for confiscated product. It states that when an explosive device is in the hands of consumers, there is no safe way to use this product.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                      TESTIMONY OF JOE POSEY
                         10 South Mulberry Street
                             Logan, OH 43130
                          Joe.posey@hotmail.com
                HB 253—Fireworks Legalization and Regulation
                             February 5, 2020

Chairman Manning, Vice Chair Dean, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan and
Members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for allowing
me to provide written testimony in opposition of House Bill 253, which would
make changes to Ohio’s fireworks law.

My career was spent in a lifetime of service to my community. I was a Fire
Department Lieutenant for 28 years and an Ohio peace officer for 10 years before
my retirement. I was a first responder and saw plenty of destruction due to
consumers using backyard fireworks.

I have listened to much deliberation over the recent years in hearings to legalize
consumer discharge of backyard fireworks. For me, a poor case has been made
about patriotism or freedom or free enterprise. Especially of concern is the
economic impact. While the fireworks industry stands to gain additional sales,
what about the economic impact on those that must deal with the fallout of
fireworks injury incidents such as first responders, law enforcement, and hospitals,
and of course innocent bystanders?

While the fireworks industry has lined up to support this legislation, citizens are
not lining up in our communities or at the statehouse!

Being a fire official I heard time and time again that the current ban on discharge is
not enforced. It was never outlined for a successful execution!

If law enforcement makes a call, they cannot confiscate the product because -

Transport must be done by: A CDL – HAZ. MAT. Endorsement Driver in A
“Explosive Placarded” Vehicle which are not instantly available.

Storage in a registered, approved magazine for entire length of litigation is
required.
Litigation may extend many years. By whom at what cost? The chain of evidence of
the confiscated product SHALL be maintained for the duration of the process in
such magazine.

A successful model could include allowing for confiscation, which would include
delivering to an industry location for secure storage and inventorying during
litigation. To give first responders the tools to enforce the current law, this type of
alternative language should be investigated and developed by subject matter
experts along with ALL stakeholders.

Some proponents advocate this is an opportunity to Educate the public better
about how to use backyard fireworks safely.

Numerous agencies both nationally and statewide, private and public, have been
unsuccessful at education of our citizens on the simple importance on having a
“working smoke alarm - carbon monoxide alarm” in every residence, not to
mention the value of residential sprinklers for life safety. And, I contend that when
you are talking about an explosive device in the hands of consumers, there is no
safe way to use this product. In fact, the instructions on the back of a backyard
fireworks package says “light fuse and run quickly in opposite direction.”

Why would our already burdened and strained public safety forces and first
responders voluntarily take on another safety campaign to promote to our
constituents that may falsely prepare them for a very dangerous product as stated
by the National Fire Protection Agency. We’re already lacking resources to
successfully accomplish these along with other very important safety issues.

This is not an issue that should belabor our time and energy any longer towards
illustrating the advocacy for safety to citizens of Ohio.


File and source

File

2020-02-05_commerce-labor_testimony_hb253poseyopponent.pdf

Size

298,710 bytes

SHA-256

8ad2cfad25dcfbcbcaa427d8bfa199fd651e52c72be0a7c554430f8337610bf5

Our copy

2020-02-05_commerce-labor_testimony_hb253poseyopponent.pdf

Original

No public link identified.