Ohio to end fireworks 'liar's law' form after 2015 - Mansfield News Journal
As fireworks use ramps up this week, this year’s Independence Day will be the last one in which Ohio fireworks buyers will have to sign a form that gives the infamous “liar’s law” its name. The “liar’s law” refers to a specific requirement in Ohio statutes for any purchasers of consumer fireworks, other than “novelty” items, to sign an agreement promising to take the products out of state within 48 hours. Typically, Ohio fireworks buyers sign the paper and still use the products in state, but the law isn’t strictly enforced around the July Fourth holiday, said Bill Weimer, vice president of Phantom Fireworks. The law will continue to require purchasers to take the fireworks out of state, but the recently passed Ohio budget bill removed the “liar’s law” form from the process. Among the exempted fireworks products, which Ohio law allows people to use in the state, are those labeled “novelty” items, including sparklers, party poppers, snakes, snaps and small smoke devices. Last December, a bill set to remove some of those fireworks restrictions failed to make it out of the state’s House of Representatives. But Weimer said he still thinks it’s only a matter of time for Ohio, referencing how 43 other states allow the consumer-grade fireworks. Ohio is one of only four states that allows only “novelty” fireworks — Illinois, Iowa and Vermont are the others. Source: www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com
