New York

NEW YORK

Penal § 270.00 Unlawfully dealing with fireworks and dangerous fireworks.

1. Definition of "fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks".

(a) The term "fireworks," as used in this section, includes:

(i) display fireworks, which means fireworks devices in a finished state, exclusive of

mere ornamentation, primarily intended for commercial displays which are designed to produce

visible and/or audible effects combustion, deflagration or detonation, including, but not limited

to, salutes containing more than one hundred thirty milligrams (two grains) of explosive

composition, aerial shells containing more than forty grams of chemical composition exclusive

of lift charge, and other exhibition display items that exceed the limits of consumer fireworks

contained in the American Pyrotechnic Association (APA) Standard 87-1, 2001 edition;

(ii) articles pyrotechnic, which means pyrotechnic devices for professional use similar

to consumer fireworks in chemical composition and construction but not intended for consumer

use and which articles meet the weight limits for consumer fireworks but are not labeled as such

and are classified by the United States department of transportation in 49 CFR 172.101 as

UN0431.

(iii) special effects, which means any combination of chemical elements or chemical

compounds capable of burning independently of the oxygen of the atmosphere, and designed and

intended to produce an audible, visual, mechanical, or thermal effect as an integral part of a

motion picture, radio, television, theatrical, or opera production, or live entertainment;

(iv) consumer fireworks which are aerial in performance and are commonly

referred to as sky rockets, bottle rockets, missile type rockets, helicopters, aerial spinners, roman

candles, mines, shell devices, aerial shell kits, reloadable and audible ground devices which are

commonly referred to as firecrackers and chasers, as well as metal wire handheld sparklers;

(v) any blank cartridge, blank cartridge pistol, or toy cannon in which explosives are

used, firecrackers, or any preparation containing any explosive or inflammable compound or any

tablets or other device commonly used and sold as fireworks containing nitrates, chlorates,

oxalates, sulphides of lead, barium, antimony, arsenic, mercury, nitroglycerine, phosphorus or

any compound containing any of the same or other explosives, or any substance or combination

of substances, or article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or an audible effect by

combustion, explosion, deflagration or detonation, or other device containing any explosive

substance, other than sparkling devices as defined in subparagraph (vi) of this paragraph; and

(vi) "sparkling devices," as used in this section, includes:

(1) sparkling devices which are ground-based or hand-held devices that produce a

shower of white, gold, or colored sparks as their primary pyrotechnic effect. Additional effects

may include a colored flame, an audible crackling effect, an audible whistle effect, and smoke.

These devices do not rise into the air; do not fire inserts or projectiles into the air, and do not

explode or produce a report (an audible crackling-type effect is not considered to be a report).

Ground-based or hand-held devices that produce a cloud of smoke as their sole pyrotechnic

effect is also included in this category. Types of devices in this category include:

(A) cylindrical fountain: cylindrical tube containing not more than seventy-five grams

of pyrotechnic composition that may be contained in a different shaped exterior such as a square,

rectangle, cylinder or other shape but the interior tubes are cylindrical in shape. Upon ignition, a

shower of colored sparks, and sometimes a whistling effect or smoke, is produced. This device

may be provided with a spike for insertion into the ground (spike fountain), a wood or plastic

base for placing on the ground (base fountain), or a wood or cardboard handle to be hand held

(handle fountain). When more than one tube is mounted on a common base, total pyrotechnic

composition may not exceed two hundred grams, and when tubes are securely attached to a base

and the tubes are separated from each other on the base by a distance of at least half an inch

(12.7 millimeters), a maximum total weight of five hundred grams of pyrotechnic composition

shall be allowed.

(B) cone fountain: cardboard or heavy paper cone containing not more than fifty grams

of pyrotechnic composition. The effect is the same as that of a cylindrical fountain. When more

than one cone is mounted on a common base, total pyrotechnic composition may not exceed two

hundred grams, as is outlined in this subparagraph.

coated with pyrotechnic composition. Upon ignition of the tip of the device, a shower of sparks

is produced. Sparklers may contain up to one hundred grams of pyrotechnic composition per

item.

(2) novelties which do not require approval from the United States department of

transportation and are not regulated as explosives, provided that they are manufactured and

packaged as described below:

(A) party popper: small devices with paper or plastic exteriors that are actuated by

means of friction (a string or trigger is typically pulled to actuate the device). They frequently

resemble champagne bottles or toy pistols in shape. Upon activation, the device expels flameresistant

paper streamers, confetti, or other novelties and produces a small report. Devices may

contain not more than sixteen milligrams (0.25 grains) of explosive composition, which is

limited to potassium chlorate and red phosphorus. These devices must be packaged in an inner

packaging which contains a maximum of seventy-two devices.

(B) snapper: small, paper-wrapped devices containing not more than one milligram of

silver fulminate coated on small bits of sand or gravel. When dropped, the device explodes,

producing a small report. Snappers must be in inner packages not to exceed fifty devices each,

and the inner packages must contain sawdust or a similar, impact-absorbing material.

(b) The term “dangerous fireworks” means any fireworks capable of causing serious

physical injury and which are: firecrackers containing more than fifty milligrams of any

explosive substance, torpedoes, skyrockets and rockets including all devices which employ

and combustible or explosive substance and which rise in the air during discharge, Roman

candles, and bombs, provided, however, that in cities with a population of one million or more,

the term "dangerous fireworks" shall also include sparklers more than ten inches in length

or one-fourth of one inch in diameter, or chasers including all devices which dart or travel about

the surface of the ground during discharge.

following nor shall the purchase and use of any items listed below be subject to the provisions of

section 61 of title 12 of the New York state codes, rules and regulations or section four hundred

eighty, four hundred eighty-one, four hundred eighty-two or four hundred eighty-three of the

general business law:

(i) flares of the type used by railroads or any warning lights commonly known as red

flares, or marine distress signals of a type approved by the United States coast guard, or

(ii) toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns or other devices in which paper caps containing

twenty-five hundredths grains or less of explosive compound are used, providing they are so

constructed that the hand cannot come in contact with the cap when in place for use, and toy

pistol paper caps which contain less than twenty-hundredths grains of explosive mixture, the sale

and use of which shall be permitted at all times, or

(iii) bank security devices which contain not more than fifty grams of any compound or

substance or any combination thereof, together with an igniter not exceeding 0.2 gram, capable

of producing a lachrymating and/or visible or audible effect, where such device is stored or used

only by banks, national banking associations, trust companies, savings banks, savings and loan

associations, industrial banks, or credit unions, or by any manufacturer, wholesaler, dealer,

jobber or common carrier for such devices and where the total storage on any one premises does

not exceed one hundred devices, or

(iv) except in cities with a population of one million or more, in those counties and

cities that opt by local law pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision five of section 405.00 of this

chapter, "fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks" shall not be deemed to include “sparkling

devices” as defined in subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision.

2. Offense.

(a) Except as herein otherwise provided, or except where a permit is obtained pursuant

to section 405.00 of this chapter:

(i) any person who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or furnish, any fireworks or

dangerous fireworks are guilty of a class B misdemeanor;

(ii) any person who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or furnish any fireworks or

dangerous fireworks valued at five hundred dollars or more shall be guilty of a class A

misdemeanor;

(iii) any person who shall possess, use, explodes or causes to explode any fireworks or

dangerous fireworks are guilty of a violation;

(iv) any person who shall offer or expose for sale, sell or furnish, any dangerous

fireworks, fireworks or sparkling devices to any person who is under the age of eighteen is guilty

of a class A misdemeanor.

(b) A person who has previously been convicted of a violation of subparagraph (iv) of

paragraph (a) of this subdivision within the preceding five years and who shall offer or expose

for sale, sell or furnish, any dangerous fireworks to any person who is under the age of eighteen

shall be guilty of a class E felony.

or more shall be a presumption that such fireworks were intended to be offered or exposed for

sale.

3. Exceptions.

(a) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(i) fireworks, dangerous fireworks, and sparkling devices while in possession of

railroads, common or contract carriers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, jobbers and

transportation companies or transportation agencies for the purpose of transportation to points

without the state, the shipment of which is not prohibited by interstate commerce commission

regulations as formulated and published from time to time, unless they be held voluntarily by

such railroads, common or contract carriers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, jobbers and

transportation agencies or transporting companies as warehousemen for delivery to points within

the state;

(ii) signaling devices used by railroad companies or motor vehicles referred to in

subdivision seventeen of section three hundred seventy-five of the vehicle and traffic law;

(iii) high explosives for blasting or similar purposes;

(iv) fireworks, dangerous fireworks and sparkling devices for the use thereof by the

United States military, and departments of the state and federal government;

(v) the use, transportation and storage of fireworks, dangerous fireworks and sparkling

devices and special effects materials in connection with the production of motion pictures,

television programs, commercials and all entertainment media recorded in any current or to be

designed format when such use, transportation and storage has been appropriately permitted by

the local governmental subdivision having jurisdiction.

(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit:

(i) any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, dealer or jobber from manufacturing,

possessing or selling at wholesale a sparkling device to municipalities, religious or civic

organizations, fair associations, amusement parks, or other organizations authorized by the state

to store, transport, possess and use or to individuals to store, transport, possess and use;

(ii) the sale or use of blank cartridges for a motion picture, television program,

commercial and all entertainment media, or for signal purposes in athletic sports or for dog trials

or dog training;

(iii) the use, storage, transportation or sale or transfer for use of fireworks and sparkling

devices in the preparation for or in connection with motion pictures, television programs,

commercials, and all entertainment media recorded in any current or to be designed format when

such use, transportation and storage has been appropriately permitted by the local governmental

subdivision having jurisdiction;

(iv) the manufacture or sale of sparkling devices provided they are to be shipped

directly out of such city and any such items are sold in accordance with the provisions of this

article; or

(v) except in cities with a population of one million or more, possession of sparkling

devices lawfully obtained in a jurisdiction that did opt by local law pursuant to paragraph (b) of

subdivision five of section 405.00 of this chapter to exclude "sparkling devices" from the

definitions of "fireworks" and "dangerous fireworks", for the purpose of lawful use in another

jurisdiction that did opt by local law pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision five of section

405.00 of this chapter to exclude “sparkling devices” from the definitions of "fireworks" and

"dangerous fireworks". The superintendent of state police shall annually publish a list of those

jurisdictions that have opted by local law pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision five of section

405.00 of this chapter to exclude “sparkling devices” from the definitions of "fireworks" and

"dangerous fireworks".

4. Sales of ammunition not prohibited.

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent, or interfere in any way

with, the sale of ammunition for revolvers or pistols of any kind, or for rifles, shot guns, or other

arms, belonging or which may belong to any persons whether as sporting or hunting weapons or

for the purpose of protection to them in their homes, or, as they may go abroad; and

manufacturers are authorized to continue to manufacture, and wholesalers and dealers to

continue to deal in and freely to sell ammunition to all such persons for such purposes.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section, it shall be

unlawful for any dealer in firearms to sell any ammunition designed exclusively for use in a

pistol or revolver to any person, not authorized to possess a pistol or revolver. The violation of

this section shall constitute a class B misdemeanor.

Part 1228 of Title 19 of the NYCRR is amended by adding a new section 1228.3, to read as

follows:

1228.3 Sparkling devices.

(a) Scope. The provisions of this section 1228.3 shall govern the possession,

manufacture,

storage, handling, sale, and use of sparkling devices. Any building or structure where sparkling

devices are manufactured, stored, handled, sold or used shall be subject to the provisions of this

section 1228.3 and to all other provisions of the Uniform Code applicable to such building or

structure.

(b) Definitions. In this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings

unless a different meaning is clearly required by the context:

(1) 2010 FCNYS. The term “2010 FCNYS” means the publication entitled “Fire Code of

New York State” published by the International Code Council, Inc. (publication date: August

2010).

(2) APPROVED. The term “approved” means acceptable to the code enforcement

official.

(3) CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL. The term “code enforcement official” means

the officer or other designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of the

Uniform Code, or a duly authorized representative.

(4) HIGHWAY. The term “highway” means a public street, public alley or public road.

(5) LISTED. The term “listed” means equipment or materials included on a list published

by an approved testing laboratory, inspection agency or other organization concerned with

current product evaluation that maintains periodic inspection of production of listed equipment

or materials, and whose listing states that equipment or materials comply with approved

nationally recognized standards and have been tested or evaluated and found suitable for use in a

specified manner.

(6) NFPA 495. The term “NFPA 495” means the publication entitled “Explosive

Materials Code” published by the National Fire Protection Association (publication date: 2006).

(7) NFPA 1124. The term “NFPA 1124” means the publication entitled “Code for the

Manufacture, Transportation, Storage, and Retail Sales of Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles”

published by the National Fire Protection Association (publication date: 2006).

(8) OPERATING BUILDING. The term “operating building” means a building occupied

in conjunction with the manufacture, transportation or use of explosive materials, sparkling

devices, or both. Operating buildings are separated from one another with the use of intraplant or

intraline distances.

(9) SPARKLING DEVICES. The term “sparkling devices” shall have the meaning

ascribed to that term by section 270.00(1)(a)(vi) of the Penal Law, and shall include “groundbased

or hand-held devices” (as defined in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph) and “novelties”

(as defined in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph).

(i) Ground-Based or Hand-Held Devices. The term “ground-based or hand-held devices”

shall include the category of devices described in section 270.00(1)(a)(vi)(1) of the Penal Law,

i.e.: sparkling devices which are ground-based or hand-held devices that produce a shower of

white, gold, or colored sparks as their primary pyrotechnic effect. Additional effects may include

a colored flame, an audible crackling effect, an audible whistle effect, and smoke. These devices

do not rise into the air, do not fire inserts or projectiles into the air, and do not explode or

produce a report (an audible crackling- type effect is not considered to be a report). Groundbased

or hand-held devices that produce a cloud of smoke as their sole pyrotechnic effect are

also included in this category. Types of devices in this category include:

(A) Cylindrical fountain: cylindrical tube containing not more than seventy-five grams of

pyrotechnic composition that may be contained in a different shaped exterior such as a square,