The sale and use of consumer-grade fireworks would become legal in Iowa under a bill approved by the Senate State Government Committee.
SF 508 maintains local control by allowing counties or cities to opt in to permitting fireworks in their jurisdictions. A board of supervisors must take affirmative action before fireworks would be legal in their county. If a county does approve the sale and use of fireworks, a city council may take action to approve their sale and use within city limits.
The bill establishes annual license fees for retailers and community groups selling fireworks, defines a “consumer fireworks wholesaler” and sets their registration fee at $1,000. The money will be used by the Fire Marshal to provide grants for firework safety education.
All consumer fireworks must meet standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Most consumer fireworks also must meet higher testing standards set by industry agencies, such as the American Pyrotechnics Association and the American Fireworks Safety Laboratory.
Permitted fireworks would include:
- Novelties with very small amounts of pyrotechnics, such as poppers, snappers, sparklers, smoke balls and snakes.
- Firecrackers, which cause a small noise more than a visual effect.
- Wheels and spinners, which create a visual effect with colors while spinning on the ground.
- Fountains, which emit showers of colored sparks sometimes accompanied by whistling or smoke.
- Rockets, which rise into the air with a burst of color or sound.
- Tubes, which emit a burst of color and noise.
- Cakes, which shoot multiple aerial shells producing a visual and audible effect.