California Legislature seeks to ban Mylar balloons

[Ms. Matterhorn]

There's a bill going to the CA State Assembly to ban "helium filled foil balloons", making it a crime to sell them. Some claim that they cause power outages when they get tangled in power lines:

(Quote from http://www.johnandkenshow.com/):
Faced with a crumbling transportation system, a $15-billion deficit, overcrowded and underperforming schools and a budget system in desperate need of reform, the state Senate has chosen to turn its attention to protecting California from the threat of helium-filled foil balloons. That’s right, on Thursday it passed legislation that would ban these balloons and make it a crime to sell them; the bill now goes to the Assembly.

Senate Bill 1499 is promoted by a small handful of well-heeled utilities that would like Californians to believe that occasional and inadvertent releases of foil balloons are somehow at the heart of blackouts in the Golden State.
The facts don’t support this claim.

The California Public Utilities Commission reports that there were nearly 6,000 power outages in California last year. In looking at the causes of these outages, the PUC cannot point with certainty to a single one that was caused by helium-filled foil balloons. . .]

Any comments from ODV CMs?

[ktulu]

I know that all the hospitals around here forbid latex balloons, only mylar can be taken in.

[hobie16]

Mylar kites were outlawed years ago for the obvious reason. Balloons seem to be a stretch unless they're life size Mickey's.

[smart1hermione]

I can understand the outlawing of mylar balloons where they're distributed in large open areas, like disneyland...

I was always more of a fan of the mickey head inside a balloon more....

[mechurchlady]

People are allergic to latex and latex balloons can be messy, eaten by little kids, and make noise when popped so I understand a hospital.

Even a fairground that is the middle of nowhere can lead to problems. I saw a bunch of mylar balloons hit a power line and burst into fire. Pretty picture unless your house or car is near the sparking wires.

People at a fairground take the balloon home and it gets away. In time it hits power lines and big trouble happens.

[vixen101485]

I was always more of a fan of the mickey head inside a balloon more....

Did you know that they last almost 2 months? Not kidding, the damn thing JUST WOULD NOT deflate and stayed airborne that whole time. Popping it was out of the question, 5 yr old trauma and all that. :D:

[HarryFromMarydelDE]

Note that is only metalized mylar (and other foil) balloons that are the subject of this law. Non-metalized mylar is non-conductive, it is in fact such a good insulator that it is used to make capacitors. (This also applies to kites, (non-metalized) mylar remains a popular kite making material.) Also note that selling or releasing any electrically conductive balloon without a weight has already been illegal in California since 1991.

-Harry

[smart1hermione]

Did you know that they last almost 2 months? Not kidding, the damn thing JUST WOULD NOT deflate and stayed airborne that whole time. Popping it was out of the question, 5 yr old trauma and all that. :D:

According to my parents, my balloons always "escaped" when I was sleeping...

[Switchbeam 9]

I don't see the problem if they're on the stick. But I agree that free-floating conductive mylar should be banned because it is the 3rd leading cause of outages.

[hobie16]

According to my parents, my balloons always "escaped" when I was sleeping...

The same thing happened to my blue stuffed elephant. I never forgave my mother.