Senate Bill 1499--which would essentially outlaw foil balloons in California--failed to pass through the state's Assembly Business and Professions Committee yesterday, reports the Sacramento Bee. "Needing six votes to pass, Senate Bill 1499 fell one vote shy, 5-2, with three members opting not to record a vote. Sen. Jack Scott, an Altadena Democrat who proposed the bill, requested reconsideration and the committee will vote again Thursday." So members of the balloon industry will nervously await this Thursday's vote. Sen. Scott, backed by the state's utility companies, says these balloons get tangled in the power lines, causing outages; the balloon industry says there are no hard facts to support the outage theory and predicts millions in sales will be lost (and mom and pop stores will go out of business). At least one balloon industry proponent told Curbed at a recent rally that squirrels cause the outages. "Why aren't they trying to ban squirrels?"
· Assembly committee grounds balloon ban [Sac Bee]
· What A Pro-Mylar Balloon Rally Looks Like [Curbed LA]
· Claim: Helium-Filled Balloons Not Causing Power Outages [Curbed LA]
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