The State Senate passes the first of two measures that could lead to the legalization of fireworks in Georgia.

Sen. Jeff Mullis, a volunteer fire fighter from Chickamauga, says fireworks are commonly used in the state despite being illegal, and he wants Georgia’s trauma hospitals and fire services to benefit from a percentage of their sales.

“My thought is let’s embrace it, let’s put as many safety measures as possible in how it’s distributed, how it’s sold, and how it’s used,” he tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.

But David Tatum with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta says it is a bad idea.

“Enabling the sale of a product that will cause injury, burns, and trauma and then you’re going to tax that product to try to help pay for the trauma treatment that that product caused,” he says.

The Senate passed the constitutional amendment, which if passed in the House, would allow voters to decide in 2014 whether to direct the money to trauma and fire services.

Mullis is not sure if the enabling bill that would allow for the legalization of fireworks will come up for a vote by Thursday’s deadline for legislation to pass this session, or wait until next year.