Bill to legalize fireworks in Iowa advances out of Senate panel

DES MOINES — Iowans moved one step closer Wednesday to getting access to legal consumer fireworks after a Senate panel voted 11-3 to adopt legislation establishing limited holiday periods when the products could be purchased and ignited by adults.

The bill’s manager, Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, said senators were passed a “well-crafted” bill that would enhance Iowans’ freedom, but independent Sen. David Johnson of Ocheyedan said it would mean Iowans would be free to “blow their fingers off” and “take an eye out” as emergency rooms handled casualties of the legislative decision to legalize fireworks in Iowa.

Senate Study Bill 1051, which moved out of the Senate State Government Committee, would allow licensed retailers in permanent structures or community groups to sell consumer fireworks in permanent structures between June 1 and July 8 and between Dec. 10 and Jan. 3. A similar provision would apply to conforming temporary structures, such as tents, from June 13 through July 8 each year.

The measure includes a fee structure for various licensure levels, allows counties or cities that do not want to legalize the expanded sale and use of fireworks to “opt out” of the new law, and bars the sale or purchase by anyone under the age of 18, making it a violation punishable by a fine of at least $250. The bill now goes to the Senate Ways and Means Committee because it contains the fee structure.

Read more: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/bill-to-legalize-fireworks-in-iowa-advances-out-of-senate-panel-20170208