1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to public safety; repealing outdated fire safety measures pre-dating the
1.3 statewide fire code; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 325F.02; 325F.03;
1.4 325F.04; 325F.05; 325F.06; 325F.07.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. REPEALER.
1.7 Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 325F.02; 325F.03; 325F.04; 325F.05; 325F.06; and
1.8325F.07, are repealed.
1Section 1.
25-00517 as introduced11/21/24 REVISOR EB/VJ
SENATE
STATE OF MINNESOTA
S.F. No. 1578NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
(SENATE AUTHORS: SEEBERGER)
OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
Introduction and first reading02/20/2025
Referred to Judiciary and Public Safety 325F.02 MANUFACTURE, STORAGE, OR SALE OF MATCHES.
Subdivision 1.Safety matches.No person, association, or corporation shall manufacture, store,
offer for sale, sell, or otherwise dispose of, or distribute, white phosphorus, single-dipped,
strike-anywhere matches of the type popularly known as "parlor matches", or any type of
double-dipped matches, unless the bulb or first dip of such match is composed of a so-called safety
or inert composition, nonignitable on an abrasive surface. No person, association, or corporation
shall manufacture, store, sell, offer for sale, or otherwise dispose of, or distribute, matches which
will ignite in a laboratory oven at a temperature of less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit when subjected
in such laboratory oven to a gradually increasing heat and maintained at the before stated continuous
temperature for a period of not less than eight hours, or blazer or so-called wind matches, whether
of the so-called safety or strike-anywhere type.
Subd. 2.Brands and trademarks.No person, association, or corporation shall offer for sale,
sell or otherwise dispose of, or distribute, any matches, unless the package or container in which
such matches are packed bears, plainly marked on the outside thereof, the name of the manufacturer
and the brand or trademark under which such matches are sold, disposed of, or distributed.
Subd. 3.How kept in retail stores.Not more than one case of each brand of matches of any
type or manufacture shall be opened at any one time in any retail store where matches are sold or
otherwise disposed of; nor shall loose boxes, or paper-wrapped packages, of matches be kept on
shelves or stored in retail stores at a height exceeding five feet from the floor.
Subd. 4.Storage in warehouses.All matches stored in warehouses, excepting manufacturer's
warehouse at place of manufacture, which contain automatic sprinkler equipment, must be kept
only in properly secured cases, and not piled to a height exceeding ten feet from the floor; nor be
stored within a horizontal distance of ten feet from any boiler, furnace, stove, or other like heating
apparatus, nor within a horizontal distance of 25 feet from any explosive material kept or stored on
the same floor.
Subd. 5.Boxes, how made.All matches shall be packed in boxes or suitable packages, containing
not more than 700 matches in any one box or package; provided, that when more than 300 matches
are packed in any one box or package, the matches shall be arranged in two nearly equal portions,
the heads of the matches in the two portions shall be placed in opposite directions; and all boxes
containing 350 or more matches shall have placed over the matches a center holding or protecting
strip, made of chipboard, not less than 1-1/4 inches wide, which shall be flanged down to hold the
matches in position when the box is nested into the shuck or withdrawn from it.
Subd. 6.Containers or cases; number of boxes or packages; how marked.All match boxes
or packages shall be packed in strong shipping containers or cases; maximum number of match
boxes or packages contained in any one shipping container or case shall not exceed the following
number:
Numerical number of
matches per box
Number of boxes
700......................................................................1/2 gross
500......................................................................1 gross
400......................................................................2 gross
300......................................................................3 gross
200......................................................................5 gross
100......................................................................12 gross
Over 50 and under 100......................................................................20 gross
Under 50......................................................................25 gross
No shipping container or case constructed of fiberboard, corrugated fiberboard, or wood, nailed
or wire-bound, containing matches, shall have a weight, including its contents, exceeding 75 pounds;
and no lock-cornered wood case containing matches shall have a weight, including its contents,
exceeding 85 pounds; nor shall any other article or commodity be packed with matches in any
container or case; and all shipping containers or cases containing strike-anywhere matches shall
have plainly marked on the outside thereof the words "strike-anywhere matches," and all shipping
1R
APPENDIX
Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 25-00517 containers or cases containing "strike on box" matches shall have plainly marked on the outside
thereof the words "strike on box matches."
Subd. 7.Violations; penalties.Any person, association, or corporation violating any of the
provisions of this section shall be fined, for the first offense, not less than $5 nor more than $25
and for each subsequent violation, not less than $25.
325F.03 FLAME RESISTANT PUBLIC ASSEMBLY TENTS.
No person, firm or corporation shall establish, maintain or operate any circus, side show, carnival,
tent show, theater, skating rink, dance hall, or a similar exhibition, production, engagement or
offering or other place of assemblage in or under which 15 or more persons may gather for any
lawful purpose in any tent, awning or other fabric enclosure unless such tent, awning or other fabric
enclosure, and all auxiliary tents, curtains, drops, awnings and all decorative materials, are made
from a nonflammable material or are treated and maintained in a flame resistant condition. This
section does not apply to tents designed or manufactured for camping, backpacking, mountaineering,
or children's play; tents used to conduct committal services on the grounds of a cemetery; nor to
tents, awnings or other fabric enclosures erected and used within a sound stage, or other similar
structural enclosure which is equipped with an overhead automatic sprinkler system.
325F.04 FLAME RESISTANT TENTS.
No person, firm, or corporation may sell or offer for sale or manufacture for sale in this state
any tent subject to section 325F.03 unless all fabrics or pliable materials in the tent are durably
flame resistant. Tents subject to section 325F.03 shall be conspicuously labeled as being durably
flame resistant.
325F.05 RULES.
The commissioner of public safety shall act so as to have effective rules concerning standards
for durably flame resistant materials and for labeling requirements under sections 325F.03 and
325F.04. In order to comply with sections 325F.03 and 325F.04, all materials and labels must
comply with the rules adopted by the commissioner. The commissioner has general rulemaking
power to otherwise implement sections 325F.03 to 325F.07.
325F.06 CIVIL PENALTIES.
Any firm or corporation who violates sections 325F.03 to 325F.05 shall be strictly liable for
any damage which occurs to any person as a result of such violation. In addition, any seller shall
refund the full purchase price of any item sold in violation of section 325F.04 upon return of the
item by the buyer.
325F.07 CRIMINAL PENALTY.
Any person, firm or corporation which violates sections 325F.03 to 325F.05 is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
2R
APPENDIX
Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 25-00517