INDIANAPOLIS | State lawmakers moved closer than ever Monday to giving local communities sweeping authority to regulate the use of fireworks.
The Indiana House voted 69-27 to allow cities and towns to restrict when and where fireworks can be used, provided municipalities still allow backyard barrages on six days around July 4 and on New Year's Eve. The state Senate voted 37-9 for a similar measure last month, so it could be only a matter time before it becomes law.
"Folks, it's about local control," Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said in support of the measure.
Valparaiso was one of several Northwest Indiana cities to publicly chastise state lawmakers following last year's decision to legalize fireworks use. Soliday said the legislation, Senate Bill 9, acknowledges the "love-hate relationship" Hoosiers have with fireworks.
Indiana has allowed fireworks sales for decades, but until last year buyers had to sign a form promising to cross state lines before igniting their purchases. The more lenient state law -- fireworks now can be used from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day of the year -- set off a firestorm of public criticism last year, particularly in Northwest Indiana.
"People said you must've been crazy to vote for that bill (last year)," said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary. "Senior citizens called me at all hours of the day and night to complain."
Smith called SB 9 a good compromise between "open season" and "local control."
Other lawmakers complained that the legislation would set up an untenable patchwork of fireworks laws across the state.
Meanwhile, supporters of the local control effort stacked an assortment of fireworks -- everything from bottle rockets to large aerial launchers -- on the dais at the front of the House chamber.
"I just want to make the point that last year we made every one of these legal," said Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven.
SB 9 now moves to the Senate, which must decide whether to agree with minor changes made by the House and send the legislation to the governor. If not, a conference committee of senators and representatives likely would work toward a comprise before lawmakers adjourn on April 29.
