ALLENTOWN (TNS) — Fireworks should have been set off at the state Capitol on Wednesday to celebrate state legislators finally acknowledging they fouled up five years ago when they legalized fireworks.

I kid, of course. Consumer fireworks on the Capitol grounds would be illegal. They would be too close to buildings.

But you get the point.

What state lawmakers did Wednesday was long overdue and a big deal.

If the legislation approved by the House advances and becomes law, it wouldn’t eliminate fireworks and bring peace back to Pennsylvania. But it could reduce where fireworks are used and how often they are used, allowing people and their pets to sleep easier.

The key part of the bill is that it would allow municipalities to enact laws to further restrict consumer fireworks, including banning them.

House Bill 2157, by Rep. Frank Farry, R-Bucks, was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 160-38. It follows years of people pleading with lawmakers to reverse the 2017 law that legalized fireworks, or at least amend it to lessen the damage.

The legislation would prohibit fireworks between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. except July 2-4 and Dec. 31, when they could be set off until 1 a.m. the following day.

The legislation would add limits on where fireworks could be used around farms and other animal facilities, including fenced areas for livestock. Fireworks would be banned within 150 feet of those places, the same limit on fireworks around homes, businesses and vehicles.

Anyone who intends to use fireworks within 300 feet of animal housing or areas would have to notify the owner or manager of those facilities in writing at least 72 hours in advance.

I wrote in January about a Berks County woman who pleaded with lawmakers to help animal owners. She said her barn and property were blanketed in smoke one night last July, terrifying her horses.

The current law already restricts fireworks from being used around occupied buildings, and on public streets and in public parks.

Those rules are ignored by idiots who shoot them over roofs and into yards.

The idiots have been getting away with it for five years because, unless they are caught setting them off, there’s little police can do. Possession of fireworks isn’t enough to trigger a fine (which is measly anyway, but more on that later).

Enforcement could be easier under the law if municipalities choose to get tough.

Municipalities could require a permit for someone to use consumer fireworks, at a “reasonable” fee. And they could prohibit consumer fireworks if there is no way they can be used without being the required 150 feet from buildings and vehicles.

In a city such as Allentown, there aren’t many places that would qualify.

Bans would not be allowed on New Year’s Eve and around Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk told me Thursday he supports the state legislation.

He said the city would consider taking further action if given new powers. City law makes it illegal to use fireworks between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., in addition to the current restrictions in the state law.

Fireworks, Tuerk said, “are having a significant negative impact” on the quality of residents’ lives, on their pets and on people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It’s constant and it’s irritating,” he said.

It’s also dangerous in Pennsylvania cities such as Allentown, which has a lot of old homes.

“There’s a lot of old, dry timber that could go up in flames if a firework lands on a roof,” Tuerk said.

The legislation passed by the House on Wednesday would increase the fine for consumer fireworks violations from $100 to $500. Repeat offenses within three years would be considered third-degree misdemeanors and carry a fine of up to $1,000.

The legislation also would redirect how the state spends tax income from fireworks sales. That’s the reason fireworks were legalized, to raise more money. Lawmakers levied a sales tax of 12% in addition to the standard state sales tax of 6%.

Currently, one-sixth of tax proceeds, but not more than $2 million, goes to grants for emergency medical services and to recruitment and training of volunteer firefighters.

The rest of the windfall goes to the state’s general fund, where it can be spent on anything.

This legislation would direct all of the tax income to EMS and firefighting. That’s another key part of the legislation. The state is in desperate need of more firefighters and more funding for emergency services.

And since firefighters will be needed to douse any blazes started by illegal use of consumer fireworks, the spending is appropriate.

Let’s hope the legislation gets fast-tracked through the Senate, even if that means weaving it into the state budget legislation that will be negotiated in the coming weeks.

Just don’t celebrate with fireworks if it does.

(Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached paul.muschick@mcall.com.)

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