Like shooting fireworks? Additional ban on pyrotechnics in the works in Myrtle Beach.

Myrtle Beach’s fireworks ban could be getting even more severe.

City officials are considering changes to the law that would prohibit their discharge from golf carts, within 500 feet of schools and 300 feet of gas stations and by anybody under 18 without adult supervision, among other restrictions.

Creating more stringent rules over fireworks use will help cut down on environmental risks, fire hazards and personal injury, according to language outlining the proposal.

“The Myrtle Beach City Council finds that regulating the discharge, use, ignition, etc. of fireworks ... will also benefit the city’s economy inasmuch as it will help keep the public beach and ocean, the city’s principal attraction, clean and attractive for millions of visitors and residents,” the ordinance says.

Fireworks would be allowed on private property between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. under the new guidelines, and until 12:30 am. on Jan. 1 and July 5. Public displays under those hours would be permitted with approval from the city’s chief fire official.

Violators would face penalties of $250 for a first offense and $500 for every one after that within 12 months.

The City Council is expected to take a routine first vote on the issue June 14, with a public hearing and final approval later this summer.

Local regulation of fireworks has become a big issue around the region. In March, Horry County gave residents and community groups the option to carve out fireworks-free zones by working with their council member to draw up boundary lines and send a resolution through the county’s legislative process.

And in Surfside Beach, fireworks can only be discharged on Independence Day, though the town is slated to vote this week on a measure loosening the regulation considerably by letting them be used any day of the year until 11 p.m. on private property that’s more than 500 feet away from parks and the town’s fishing pier.

A 2011 state Attorney General opinion said local governments can only impose civil penalties for violators of fireworks bans, and offenders in Surfside Beach can be fined up to $500 for ignoring the ban.

Police Chief Michael Hoffman said although the sale, possession or exchange of fireworks in the town is illegal on any day except July 4, “we have fireworks all around us.” “Visitors have come into town for generations and just start fireworks on the beach. The town expends a tremendous amount money each year to have law enforcement officers on the beach every night,” he said.

This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.