Firefighters, ERs could reap windfall from fireworks tax

When Georgia passed a fireworks sales bill in 2015, plenty of firefighters and medical professionals battled it because they’re the ones who get frantic phone calls when people get in trouble playing with burning objects.

Now the state Legislature says it’s time to use taxes on fireworks to help support some of those emergency service professionals.

Voters will see the question on their ballots this year: Should Georgia use an existing fireworks tax to pay for firefighter training and equipment, trauma care and 911 services?

It’s not a new fireworks tax. The vote would tie a tax that’s already collected to those emergency services, said state Rep. Paul Battles, R-Cartersville, the lawmaker who carried the legislation in the state House.

“This is a good piece of legislation because we’ve been trying (for funding), especially on the trauma care,” Battles said.

The tax might be worth about $1 million in its first year, Battles said. But he also said he expects an increase in the number of places selling fireworks in Georgia and to see the sum rise to $3 million to $4 million annually.

Fifty-five percent of the revenue would go to the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission. That state body makes grants for the expensive operation of emergency rooms across the state that are equipped and staffed to handle the most serious injuries. That includes the Medical Center, Navicent Heath’s trauma center in Macon.

“On behalf of the communities that we serve, Navicent Health strongly encourages Georgia voters to pass the proposed fourth constitutional amendment on Nov. 8,” President and CEO Ninfa Saunders in a written statement.

Another 40 percent of the money would fund training and equipment for firefighters.

Gordon Henderson, executive director of the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council, said that if fireworks are going to be sold in Georgia anyway, some of the money might as well go to help fire services.

“We would appreciate people voting for it,” Henderson said.

He said some fire services across the state have great needs, especially in rural areas where there are relatively few people or businesses to fund public services. Firefighting equipment is not cheap: a fire engine might cost $500,000. A firefighter’s breathing apparatus costs $5,000 to $6,000.

Henderson said if the bill passes, he expects the council to distribute the money as need-based grants, though that decision hasn’t been made.

The remaining 5 percent of the tax money would help pay for 911 services.

Earlier this year, Battles’ colleagues in the state House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the idea of putting the question on the ballot. It takes a public vote on a proposed amendment to the state Constitution to make sure any tax money is dedicated to a particular cause. Otherwise, the money goes into the state’s general bank account, and it’s up to each year’s group of lawmakers to decide how to spend it.

“This is the right path, and I hope people will vote for this because … emergency responders are going to come to their house, or our house, and they need these additional funds,” Battles said.

Early voting begins Oct. 17.

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Firefighters, ERs could reap windfall from fireworks tax."