I hate to say I told you so about the two-year-old fireworks law in Pennsylvania, but I did, and more and more residents and officials are complaining about its consequences.

While state officials are salivating about the more than $10 million in newfound revenue that the law generated, the backlash has been intense.

Granted, the further we get away from the July Fourth holiday, when the boo birds were really out in force, the noisy opposition has lessened, but each day removed from Independence Day takes us one day closer to New Year’s Eve when the next mass round of fireworks will light up communities and neighborhoods.

That said, there is a lot going on behind the scenes in Harrisburg where legislators have been getting an earful from angry constituents and municipal officials.

A bill introduced by Rep. Frank Farry, R-Bucks, and co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, would modify the 2017 legislation and address some of the major complaints.

Other local legislators listed as co-sponsors are: Republicans Joe Emrick and Marcia Hahn of Northampton County and Democrats Maureen Madden of Monroe; Peter Schweyer and Jeanne McNeill of Lehigh, and Robert Freeman and Steve Samuelson of Northampton.

Schlossberg said there have been calls for repeal of the law, but he said that this is an unrealistic expectation and that a modification of the existing law is the better way to try to achieve a reasonable compromise.

Locally, some communities have initiated or are considering modifications on their own. Slatington Borough Council, for instance, is looking at an ordinance that would ban use of legal fireworks between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. unless a special permit is sought for an event.

The Tobyhanna Township supervisors in Monroe County adopted an ordinance that restricts the type of aerial fireworks that are permissible, including where they can be used.

Several serious incidents have been attributed to relaxing the fireworks law, including the death of an 11-year-old boy in Wilkes-Barre last year. A man lost a hand and another suffered hand and face wounds after a fireworks accident in Washington Township, near Slatington. Fireworks also were believed responsible for a fire that damaged the roof of the McKinley Elementary School in Allentown.

Statewide, there have been reports of property damage by errant fireworks that were set off too close to homes and businesses. Wilkes-Barre officials said fireworks set a roof on fire around July Fourth. Reading officials reported eight fireworks-related fires in the city July 3-7. In all, Reading police said they received 92 fireworks complaints during that time.

Before the state law was passed, complaints were largely confined to days around celebratory holidays, such as July 4 and New Year’s Eve, but now that many of the formerly banned fireworks are legal, residents complain that they have become a year-round nuisance. In rural and suburban areas where coverage is by state police, it becomes next to impossible to get complaints investigated. Jay Delaney, president of the state Career Fire Chiefs Association, said that his group has gone on record to have the 2017 law repealed. Delaney insists that are no safe fireworks.

Failing repeal, Delaney will accept greater restrictions. For example, he believes the distance from an occupied dwelling should be at least 500 feet rather than 150 in the law.

Under the Farry-Schlossberg bill, consumer fireworks could not be used between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. with exceptions for New Year’s Eve, the Fourth of July, and days near the Fourth. On those days, they could be used until 1 a.m.

Municipalities would have more authority to restrict the use of consumer fireworks. The current law is murky about their options now, Farry said.

Penalties for repeat offenders would increase. Now, those illegally using fireworks can be charged with a summary offense and a fine of up to $100. Under the proposed legislation, if they commit a fireworks violation within one year of a previous fireworks conviction, they will be charged with a third degree misdemeanor and fined at least $500.

Those selling fireworks would be required to post more prominently the regulations for the use of their products. Penalties would also increase for those selling fireworks illegally.

Although Farry voted against the 2017 legislation, he said he is realistic and knows the clock cannot be turned back now that the horse has left the barn. “We don’t want to turn the world upside down,” Farry said.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com