New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation to enhance firework safety on state property.
The new law, sponsored by Hudson Valley Republican state Senator Greg Ball, designates the Office of Fire Prevention and Control as the permitting authority for fireworks displays and use of pyrotechnics on all state property. Previously, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation issued such permits if the fireworks were conducted on state park property, with local governments issuing the permits in all other cases, including for such activity on state property that is not a park. Not all local governments have permitting processes in place. Ball says the law now puts one agency in charge of fireworks approval and makes the permitting process uniform.
