An effort to legalize more fireworks in North Carolina fizzled in a House committee on Tuesday amid opposition by fire officials, retailers and safety advocates.
House Bill 615 calls for allowing sales and use of "consumer fireworks" in the state but sets rules for who can sell and buy them and where and when they can be used. Cities and counties would be allowed to prohibit their use locally under the proposal.
Sponsor Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland, said he is tired of seeing people stock up on fireworks in South Carolina or Georgia and set them off in their North Carolina neighborhoods.
"We have more hazardous conditions when they're bought out of state illegally than if we had a legal product," Szoka told the House Regulatory Reform committee.