LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Weddings, birthdays, graduations… they are all made a little bit better with decorations and balloons. Unfortunately, Michigan Democrats want to regulate how you are celebrating the milestones in your life and they are targeting your balloons with what some are calling governmental overreach.

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Under Senate Bill 294, seven Michigan Democrat Senators have introduced legislation to amend the “Natural resources and environmental protection act” to prohibit most intentional releases of balloons outdoors that contain a gas that is lighter than air. Fines of $800 to $2,500 could be levied against Michiganders if they violate the law, depending on the amount of litter they are responsible for. A second offense could cost you $5,000.

So if you are planning a wedding or graduation or gender reveal party or any other celebration in your near future, you should probably think about nixing the balloons from your guest list.

The ban won’t apply to hot air balloons that carry passengers or balloons released for meteorological purposes or scientific research (like the China balloons) that governmental agencies send up up and away. And you’re off the hook if you don’t release your balloon “knowingly.”

Why are balloons suddenly enemy number one? They have long been blamed for killing birds and dirtying up lakes, ponds and other waterways. Groups cite balloons as a threat to wildlife because of the latex material they are made from.

According to a 2022 report published by the Office of Legislative Research affiliated with the Connecticut state Legislature, at least 10 states have limited or banned the intentional release of balloons outdoors. Those states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Is this balloon crisis over-inflated??

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According to a survey conducted by the environmental nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes, more than 18,000 balloon pieces were found by volunteers along the Great Lakes shorelines between 2016 and 2018. Volunteers in the group picked up 3,885 balloons in 2022 in a cleanup event that included five great lakes.

The Balloon Council (yes there is one) in New Jersey, a group who represents balloon retailers, told the Detroit Free Press in 2019 that they preferred education to bans.

Jennifer Caddick, vice president of communications for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, says that the Alliance has not taken a position on this legislation. However, advocates for the new anti-balloon bill think that Senate Bill 294 will be a good thing. Senator McMorrow told Bridge Magazine that the bill is to be an educational dissuasion tool and increase public awareness – encouraging people to find alternate ways to celebrate instead of using balloons. She said, “Just like fireworks, sometimes I think people aren’t aware that when you send something up, it has to come down somewhere.”

The legislation was referred to the Committee on Energy and Environment.