An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Display of Fireworks and Indoor Pyrotechnics
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1744
Committee: Criminal Justice, and Public Safety
Sponsors: DUPLESSIE, HATCH, BULL, GERZOFSKY, LESSARD, PATRICK, SULLIVAN, BRYANT, NASS
Amends: 8 MRSA §227-A, 8 MRSA §233

Legislative Document 
No. 1744 
H.P.1266 
House of Representatives, December 22,2003 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Display of Fireworks 
and Indoor Pyrotechnics 
Submitted by the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 17, 2003. Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice, and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative DUPLESSIE of Westbrook. 
Cosponsored by Senator HATCH of Somerset and 
17l~ 
/J7.1l/&:~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BULL of Freeport, GERZOFSKY of Brunswick, LESSARD of Topsham, 
PATRICK of Rumford, SULLIVAN of Biddeford, Senators: BRYANT of Oxford, NASS of 
York. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 8 MRSA §227-A, sub-§I, "A and B, as enacted by PL 
1999, c. 671, §6, are amended to read: 
A. 
Applies in writing to the commissioner for a permit at 
least lG 20 days in advance of the proposed display; 
B. 
Applies 
on 
forms 
furnished 
by 
the 
department. 
application for a permit must include: 
An 
(1) 
A certificate of public liability insurance in the 
amount of $§GGrGGG $1,000,000 to cover loss, damage or 
injuries to persons or property that might result from 
the display; and 
(2) 
A site plan for the proposed display depicting a 
diagram of the grounds or facilities at which or in 
which the display will be held. 
The diagram must show 
points of discharge, fallout areas, 
any bui Idings or 
other structures in proximity to the display site and 
the location of 
any 
audience that may 
be present. 
Distances 
of 
and 
distances 
between 
the 
points 
of 
discharge 
and 
any 
buildings 
or 
structures 
must 
be 
stated on the diagram; and 
Sec. 2. 8 MRS A §227-A. sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 437, 
§2 and affected by §8, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Fees. 
The fee for a permit is $30 per display and the 
fee for a site inspection is $111. 
The fee for all monitored 
indoor pyrotechnic events that occur outside of normal business 
hours is $100. 
Sec. 3. 8 MRSA §227-A, sub-§5, "A and B, as enacted by PL 
2003, c. 452, Pt. C, §6 and affected by 
Pt. X, §2, are amended 
to read: 
A. 
A person who 
conducts a 
fireworks display without a 
permit commits a Class 9 ~ crime. 
B. 
A person who conducts a fireworks display in violation 
of a permit issued under subsection 1 commits a Class E 12. 
crime. 
Sec. 4. 8 MRS A §227-A, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7. 
Indoor pyrotechnics. 
All indoor pyrotechnic events must 
be 
monitored by 
the State 
Fire 
Marshal 
or 
the 
State Fire 
Marshal's designee. 
Page l-LR2618(1) 
Sec.S. 8 MRSA §233, sub-§§l to 3 are enacted to read: 
1. 
Complete application required. 
A licensee shall submit 
a complete application for renewal at least 30 days prior to the 
expiration of a license under this chapter. 
An application is 
not complete unless it includes all materials reguired to be 
evaluated for licensure. 
2. 
Renewal 
submitted within 
days 
following license 
expiration. 
Notwithstanding subsection L 
a person may renew a 
license under this chapter for up to 90 days after the date of 
expiration of the license. 
The gO-day period does not postpone 
the expiration date of the existing license. 
A licensee whose 
license has lapsed may not work as a fireworks technician until a 
renewed license is issued. 
3. 
Renewal submitted more than 90 days following license 
expiration. 
An 
application 
for 
license 
renewal 
under 
this 
section submitted more than 90 days after the license expiration 
date is considered an application for 
a 
new license and is 
subject to all reguirements governing a new application. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law regarding pyrotechnics as follows. 
1. 
It requires a person to apply for a permit from the 
Commissioner 
of 
Public 
Safety 
days 
before 
conducting 
a 
fireworks display instead of the current 10 days. 
2. 
It increases the amount of public liability insurance 
that an applicant for a permit to conduct a fireworks display 
must have from $500,000 to $1,000,000. 
3. 
It requires the State Fire Marshal or the State Fire 
Marshal's designee to monitor all indoor pyrotechnic events. 
4. 
It increases certain penalties regarding the unlawful 
conduct of a fireworks display and failure to obtain a fireworks 
permit. 
5. 
It delineates license renewal procedures for fireworks 
technicians.