AN ACT providing that A board of county commissioners may authorize the Governing body of A city to authorize the use of pyrotechnics within the corporate limits of the city and issue permits for the use of pyrotechnics.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑410(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	It shall be unlawful for any individual, firm, partnership or corporation to manufacture, purchase, sell, deal in, transport, possess, receive, advertise, use or cause to be discharged any pyrotechnics of any description whatsoever within the State of North Carolina: provided, however, that it shall be permissible for pyrotechnics to be exhibited, used or discharged at concerts or public exhibitions, such as fairs, carnivals, shows of all descriptions and public celebrations: provided, further, that the use of said pyrotechnics in connection with concerts or public exhibitions, such as fairs, carnivals, shows of all descriptions and public celebrations, shall be under supervision of experts who have previously secured written authority from the board of county commissioners of the county, or the city if authorized under G.S. 14‑413(a1), in which said pyrotechnics are to be exhibited, used or discharged. Written authority from the board of commissioners or city is not required, however, for a concert or public exhibition authorized by The University of North Carolina or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and conducted on lands or buildings in Orange County owned by The University of North Carolina or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but such exhibition, use, or discharge of pyrotechnics shall be under supervision of experts who have previously secured written authority from The University of North Carolina or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, it shall not be unlawful for a common carrier to receive, transport, and deliver pyrotechnics in the regular course of its business. The requirements of G.S. 14‑413(b) and G.S. 14‑413(c) apply to this section."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑413 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑413.  Permits for use at public exhibitions.
(a)	For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Article, the board of county commissioners of any county, or the governing board of a city authorized pursuant to subsection (a1) of this section, may issue permits for use in connection with the conduct of concerts or public exhibitions, such as fairs, carnivals, shows of all descriptions and public celebrations, but only after satisfactory evidence is produced to the effect that said pyrotechnics will be used for the aforementioned purposes and none other. Provided that no such permit shall be required for a public exhibition authorized by The University of North Carolina or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and conducted on lands or buildings in Orange County owned by The University of North Carolina or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
(a1)	For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Article, a board of county commissioners may authorize the governing body of any city in the county to issue permits pursuant to the provisions of this Article for pyrotechnics to be exhibited, used, or discharged within the corporate limits of the city for use in connection with the conduct of concerts or public exhibitions. The board of county commissioners shall adopt a resolution granting the authority to the city, and it shall remain in effect until withdrawn by the board of county commissioners adopting a subsequent resolution withdrawing the authority. If a city lies in more than one county, the board of county commissioners of each county in which the city lies must adopt an authorizing resolution. If any county in which the city lies withdraws the authority of the city to issue permits for the use of pyrotechnics, the authority of the city to issue permits for the use of pyrotechnics will end, and all counties within which the city lies must resume their authority to issue the permits.
(b)	For any indoor use of pyrotechnics at a concert or public exhibition, the board of commissioners or the governing body of an authorized city may not issue any permit unless the local fire marshal or the State Fire Marshal (or in the case of The University of North Carolina or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill it may not authorize such concert or public exhibition unless the State Fire Marshal) has certified that:
(1)	Adequate fire suppression will be used at the site.
(2)	The structure is safe for the use of such pyrotechnics with the type of fire suppression to be used.
(3)	Adequate egress from the building is available based on the size of the expected crowd.
(c)	The requirements of subsection (b) of this section also apply to any city authorized to grant pyrotechnic permits by local act and to the officer delegated the power to grant such permits by local act."
SECTION 3.  Any local act granting authority to a city to grant permission or a permit for pyrotechnics to be exhibited, used or discharged at concerts or public exhibitions pursuant to G.S. 14‑410 or G.S.14‑413 is repealed one year from the effective date of this act.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 1st day of May, 2007.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 5:35 p.m. this 11th day of May, 2007