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Bill To Ban Some Fireworks Likely To Be Voted Down By House

Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce

The New Hampshire House will take up a bill this week that bans certain types of fireworks. Given the committee report to kill it, it’s unlikely to pass.

The bill would ban aerial spinners and reloadable mortars—devices that were involved in the accidental explosion that injured 13 people in Pelham nearly two years ago. Ed Gleason is a Pelham selectman and the father-in-law of the man who hosted the July 4th celebration. He supports the bill but says, during a committee hearing last year, opposition was vocal.

“It was very evident that there was a huge lobby going on with the fireworks companies in the legislature about not controlling them... So we knew at that time that there was probably the prospect that it would be killed ultimately.”

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to kill the bill last November. However, the committee’s Democratic chair, and the bill’s sponsor, a Republican from Pelham are proposing a new bill this session. It would reinstate a fireworks advisory board that dissolved in 2011.

The board would have authority to ban certain fireworks. That bill gets a hearing on Thursday.

Before becoming a reporter for NHPR, Ryan devoted many months interning with The Exchange team, helping to produce their daily talk show. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in Manchester with a major in Politics and Society and a minor in Communication Arts. While in school, he also interned for a DC-based think tank. His interests include science fiction and international relations. Ryan is a life-long Manchester resident.
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