HB 253 Opponent Testimony to the House Commerce & Labor Committee — Ohio Osteopathic Association

Summary

Opponent testimony on House Bill 253 to the House Commerce & Labor Committee, written on behalf of the osteopathic physicians and students of the Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA), with a closing name block for Matt Harney, MBA, Executive Director. The testimony states that the OOA represents approximately 5,000 actively practicing osteopathic physicians (DOs) in Ohio and more than 1,000 osteopathic medical students. It states that HB 253 eliminates the requirement that purchasers of consumer grade fireworks transport them out of the state within 48 hours, and that one-third of all injuries are to kids and half of all fireworks injuries are to bystanders. It urges removing the discharge legalization from HB 253.

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

        HB 253 Opponent Testimony to the House Commerce & Labor Committee

Chair Manning, Vice Chair Dean, and Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan:

I am writing today on behalf the osteopathic physicians and students of the Ohio Osteopathic
Association to express opposition to House Bill 253, which would effectively allow for private
use of fireworks.

The Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA) represents approximately 5,000 actively practicing
osteopathic physicians (DOs) in the state of Ohio and more than 1,000 osteopathic medical
students. DOs represent about 1 in 6 of the total physicians practicing in Ohio and more than
a quarter of the state's family physicians. Osteopathic physicians approach wellness through
a comprehensive approach that recognizes the person is a unit of body, mind, and spirit.

HB 253--much like SB 72--appears to be an attempt by the fireworks industry to legalize
discharge of fireworks in Ohio, as there’s no apparent organic groundswell of support of
legalization from citizen groups.

HB 253 eliminates the requirement that purchasers of consumer grade fireworks must
transport those fireworks out of the state within 48 hours and allows purchasers to keep
fireworks in Ohio. The bill allows any person authorized to possess consumer grade
fireworks to discharge, ignite, or explode those fireworks on the person’s own property or with
the property owner’s permission.

Physicians--especially those in emergency rooms throughout Ohio--would see an immediate
increase in visits caused by recreational and reckless fireworks discharge. Time and time
again, studies show that both the frequency and severity of fireworks injuries increase when
discharge is legalized in a state.

Most importantly, it is Ohio children who are most directly impacted by the potential passage
of this bill, as one-third of all injuries are to kids. Further, half of all fireworks injuries are to
bystanders.

The OOA strongly urges your help in securing a safe environment for Ohio citizens by
removing the discharge legalization from HB 253. Thank you to the House Commerce &
Labor Committee for its consideration.
Matt Harney, MBA
Executive Director
Ohio Osteopathic Association


File and source

File

2020-06-04_commerce-labor_testimony_hb253oaaopponent.pdf

Size

311,676 bytes

SHA-256

bd72b55034c2c68fc9eba39fb76b92e33c29f202eb4341fcc8d2634519ee6270

Our copy

2020-06-04_commerce-labor_testimony_hb253oaaopponent.pdf

Original

No public link identified.