Pyrotechnics bill passes Senate

INDIANAPOLIS -- As State Sen. Vi Simpson D-Ellettsville stood up to speak in front of her fellow senators about the Senate Bill 326, the "pyrotechnics bill," she knew if she did not convince the plurality of the senators in the room to vote yes on the bill she co-authored, it would not be heard again for 10 months. \nThe "pyrotechnics bill" as it has been dubbed by many, is legislation concerning the use of indoor pyrotechnics throughout Indiana. \nThe bill requires three rules. First, it requires insurance permits for supervised public displays of fireworks. Secondly it implements a statewide code for the display of indoor pyrotechnics. Lastly, it requires at least $500,000 of personal injury and $500,000 of property damage insurance coverage for a supervised display of indoor pyrotechnics under certain circumstances. \nState Sen. Tom Wyss R-Fort Wayne, co-author of the bill and chair of a public safety evaluation committee, said the bill is in reaction to an incident last year where concertgoers were burned by pyrotechnics at a Great White concert.\n"It is necessary for Indiana so we can insure the people of this state that we won't have a situation like the one in Rhode Island," Wyss said. "Over 100 people died in that fire, and God knows how many burned and that is what we are trying to prevent with our rules."\nThe bill puts in place penalties for violating any of the rules. The penalties range from a Class C infraction to a Class C felony. \nState Sen. Michael Young, R-Speedway, questioned what would happen to the club owner in a situation were the person conducting the pyrotechnic display violated the rules without the owner's knowledge. \n"If (people displaying the fireworks) have a certificate from the fire marshal saying its ok to do this, and they have an insurance policy, $500,000 in coverage and show them to the owner, but still go and violate the law why would we hold the owner of the property liable if he has seen the proper documentation?" Young said. "That is what (Simpson) is going to take care of."\nSimpson said it was never her intent of the bill to put too much pressure on the owners of a nightclub.\n"I thought (Young) had a very legitimate comment because of the way the bill is worded it doesn't make it clear as to when a night club owner might be liable for either criminal or civil penalties and I think by adding a few words we can clarify that and make sure we don't over burden nightclub owners," Simpson said.\nSimpson received inspiration for this bill after the tragic nightclub fire in Rhode Island last year. \n"I realized in places like Bloomington, where there are a lot of nightclubs with a lot of people, we are just a disaster waiting to happen," Simpson said. "It seemed to me that we needed to take this opportunity to protect young people in not only Bloomington but around the state."\nThe bill passed the Senate with a vote of 47-0 and is now being heard in the House of Representatives.