Gloomy day for mylar lovers. Yesterday, Senate Bill 1499--which would essentially outlaw foil balloons in California-- passed through the state's Assembly Business and Professions Committee, reports the Whittier Daily News. It had initially failed to pass in the committee, but state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, who proposed the bill, asked for a reconsideration. At issue is whether these balloons get tangled in power lines and cause outages; the balloon industry claims they don't, but Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, who voted the ban, cited statistics showing these foiled devils caused 475 power outages in Southern California last year. After the vote Eng spoke, obviously trying to soothe the devastated balloon industry. "This is not banning Mylar balloons," Eng told the paper. "Anyone can still buy and use a Mylar balloon, as long as they attach it to a stick and don't fill it with helium." So you can drag foil balloons to a hospital or birthday party, for instance. According to WDN, the bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
· Balloon bill on move [Whittier Daily News]
· What A Pro-Mylar Balloon Rally Looks Like [Curbed LA]
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