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This week, Front Door Politics rounds up a handful of bills that may just make a difference in the way you go about your summer fun—especially if your summer is likely to involve fireworks, boating or beer.

kaboom
Revelers may get new pyrotechnics to choose from this summer with changes to the state’s fireworks regulations. A bill that’s passed both the House and Senate would make it easier for fireworks retailers to stock new products, and it would probably lighten the load of the state fire marshal’s office, too.

“I rewrote that law with the fire marshal,” says Hooksett Fireworks owner Tina Katsikas, president of the N.H. Fireworks Association. Sponsored by Rep. Lars Christiansen (R-Hudson), House Bill 219 will next go to Gov. John Lynch for signature.

If it becomes law, consumers will first notice the introduction of reloadable aerial mortar shells to Granite State shelves. Instead of pre-packaged tubes that contain only one mortar ball and are spent with one use, the reloadable kits include six mortar balls packed into the tubes, which can be used up to six times.

That packaging matters to New Hampshire retailers, who do much of their business by mail. Shipping pre-loaded tubes with so much empty space is cost-prohibitive, Katsikas says. With the new reloadable kits, they can get a lot more bang for their shipping buck, so to speak.

State fire marshal Bill Degnan is not enthusiastic. He’s always concerned about fireworks, and the reloadable mortar shells are of particular concern.

“The average person won’t think that there could be a spark left in the tube before they reload it,” he says. And, the potential for someone to load and ignite more than one mortar ball at a time could also be hazardous if it causes the tube to blow up or the shells to explode in an unpredictable direction.

Bottlerockets and firecrackers would still be prohibited under the bill, along with certain sparklers that contain chlorates or perchlorates. “It’s easier to enforce the things that aren’t legal,” Katsikas says. And on this point Degnan agrees.

The current list of permissible fireworks now includes 2,554 products. “It’s becoming unmanageable,” Degnan says.

The list has been compiled over time as retailers have met annually in a remote sandpit with an appointed committee to test every product the shops want to carry. The new law, on the other hand, assumes that any fireworks approved by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission are safe.

Degnan worries that certain products, such as fireworks with parachutes, which the fireworks advisory committee previously prohibited, would become legal, he says. Other fireworks that the committee found tipped over or blew out the side would also be permitted.

Katsikas anticipates that retailers will be able to stock a greater range of products if HB 219 passes. “There was a monopoly ... of companies that knew how to get onto that list,” Katsikas says. “Now fireworks retailers can find their own niche and not have price wars, because we won’t be picking from the same list.”

House Bill 219 would take effect immediately upon passage, but it’s not clear if that will happen in time to brighten this year’s July 4 festivities. No changes would be made to the local option to restrict fireworks.

vroom
The speed limit for boats on Lake Winnipesauke stands at 45 miles per hour. On May 18, the House killed a Senate measure to raise it.

Sponsored by Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester), the original Senate Bill 27 actually would have eliminated a speed limit altogether. Instead, boaters on any body of water would have been required to “proceed at a safe speed that is reasonable and prudent under the existing conditions,” with factors like visibility, weather, and radar use to be considered in determining a safe speed.

A Senate amendment would have tightened that to only allow 55 mph speeds in the Broads section of Lake Winnipesauke. But the House handily defeated the measure by a vote of 276-75.

Gov. Lynch signed the speed limit into law two years ago.

2,000 barrels of beer
A new “nano” brewery license is in the works in the Granite State. Brewers of 2,000 barrels or less per year would be allowed to sell retail or wholesale, for an annual fee of $240 plus 30 cents per gallon.

On-site sales of beer or specialty beer made by the nano manufacturer would be somewhat limited, but serving food would not be a requirement of serving up the suds. Wholesale trade would also be permitted.

According to the Liquor Commission, there are only four establishments in New Hampshire currently producing less than 2,000 barrels of beer per year. They’re not sure how many of those four will go for the new license, so they’re not predicting an impact on state revenues at this time.

The homebrewing community has supported the legislation, which has passed both the House and Senate and now waits for the governor’s signature.

“It will help to facilitate small business owners’ entry into the brewing industry,” testified Annette Lee of North Hampton’s new Throwback Brewery, at a public hearing in support of the bill. “(B)oth on- and off-premise sales ... would allow small breweries better chances at success and growth, especially at the startup phases of a brewery when it is so critical.”
If it becomes law, House Bill 262 will take effect July 1.