Oahu residents could have the option to light up a limited number of fountain-type fireworks this New Year’s Eve under a bill that a Honolulu City Council committee approved Tuesday.

The Council Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee voted 8-1 to move Bill 5 (2014) to the full Council, which will likely take it up at its meeting next month. Councilman Brandon Elefante was the lone “no” vote. Chances are that the bill will get Council approval because it’s made up of the same nine people who voted Tuesday.

Bill 5 (2014) would allow adults to purchase and set off up to 60 non-aerial cylindrical or cone fountains containing no more than 100 grams of “pyrotechnic composition,” or explosive material, for each $25 fireworks permit they obtain from the city.

Supporters of the measure hail it as a way to allow Oahu residents a small, legal way to enjoy fireworks on New Year’s Eve and Independence Day beyond what’s currently allowed.

A law enacted by the city in 2010, which took effect Jan. 2, 2011, outlawed all consumer fireworks with the exception of traditional firecrackers, which adults can purchase after obtaining city permits. There is no limit on the amount of permits that can be obtained.

The new bill, if it becomes law, would allow people to use those same permits to buy fountains.

Opponents of the bill, including the Honolulu Fire and Police departments and health advocates, said Oahu’s skies have been clearer since the ban became law. They warn that easing up on the law would make the holidays more dangerous for fireworks users and those with respiratory problems.

The original bill, as introduced by Council members Ikaika Anderson and Ann Kobayashi in January 2014, would have allowed a limited amount of sparklers as well as fountains.

But after strong objections by public safety officials, Executive Matters Chairman Trevor Ozawa removed sparklers from consideration. Ozawa had also proposed allowing those younger than 18 to set off fireworks under adult supervision, but that idea was also extinguished Tuesday.

Assistant Fire Chief Socrates Bratakos reminded committee members that the Fire Department supports an all-out ban on consumer fireworks, including the firecrackers that are allowed today.

The 2010 law “made New Year’s Eve much safer,” Bratakos said. “Pass on this. … Let this be another New Year’s Eve where we can breathe.”

Pearl City resident Larry Veray said fireworks have a negative impact on air quality for asthmatics such as himself. “It is truly unjust for the City Council to take a step back from improving the quality of life for our families and our communities,” he said.

Kahala resident Brett Katayama said the limited amount of fireworks that would be allowed under the bill constitutes “safe fun.” He said he doesn’t want to have to go to Maui “to participate in such a local and cultural tradition.”

Thomas Berger, an attorney for American Promotional Events Northwest, doing business as TNT Fireworks, said the limit of 100 grams per fountain being proposed represents a very small device that is much less powerful than what is allowed by state law and other Hawaii counties, and what was allowed on Oahu before the 2011 ban.

The 100-gram product would last about 20 seconds, while a 500-gram fountain would run a minute and 40 seconds. It would also emit one-fifth the amount of smoke, he said.

“This would only legalize the smallest types of fountains,” Berger said.