By Wentworth S.B. No. 245
74R3612 CAG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the power of counties to prohibit or restrict the use,
1-3 possession, or sale of fireworks; providing a penalty.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 240.904, Local Government Code, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 240.904. Regulation of Fireworks. (a) <For the
1-8 purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply:>
1-9 <(1) "Fireworks" means only those items classified
1-10 under 49 C.F.R. Sec. 173.100(r)(2) (10-1-86 edition), as
1-11 "skyrockets with sticks" and those items classified as "missiles.">
1-12 <(2) "Climatic conditions" shall mean specific
1-13 conditions that exist due to an unusual deficit in normal
1-14 precipitation levels for a given area.>
1-15 <(b)> To protect the public health or safety, the
1-16 commissioners court of a county by order may prohibit or restrict
1-17 the use, possession, or sale of <certain> fireworks in all or part
1-18 <a portion> of the unincorporated area of the county <in which the
1-19 normal danger of fire for that particular time and place is greatly
1-20 enhanced by climatic conditions. In addition, during the December
1-21 fireworks season, the commissioners court of a county with a
1-22 population of less than 35,000 by order may restrict or prohibit
1-23 the use of certain fireworks when conditions on rural croplands not
1-24 under cultivation for a period of at least 12 months are determined
2-1 to be extremely hazardous for the danger of fire because of high
2-2 grass.>
2-3 <(c) Under an order issued under this section, there must be
2-4 at least one location of appropriate size in the unincorporated
2-5 area in the county where the use of such fireworks is not
2-6 prohibited. An order issued under this section may not extend
2-7 beyond the period of time during which the enhanced fire danger
2-8 exists>.
2-9 (b) <(d)> The county is entitled to injunctive relief to
2-10 prevent the violation or threatened violation of a prohibition or
2-11 restriction established by the order.
2-12 (c) <(e)> A person commits an offense if the person
2-13 knowingly or intentionally violates a prohibition or restriction
2-14 established by an order issued under this section. An offense
2-15 under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
2-16 (d) This section does not apply to:
2-17 (1) toy pistols, toy canes, or toy guns;
2-18 (2) model rockets and model rocket motors designed,
2-19 sold, and used for the purpose of propelling recoverable aero
2-20 models;
2-21 (3) propelling or expelling charges used in
2-22 construction, excavation, or demolition;
2-23 (4) novelties and trick noisemakers;
2-24 (5) the sale, at wholesale, of any type of fireworks
2-25 by a resident manufacturer, distributor, importer, or jobber if the
2-26 fireworks are intended for shipment directly out of state in
2-27 accordance with regulations of the United States Department of
3-1 Transportation;
3-2 (6) the sale, and use in emergency situations, of
3-3 pyrotechnic signaling devices or distress signals for marine,
3-4 aviation, or highway use;
3-5 (7) the use of fusees and railway torpedoes by
3-6 railroads;
3-7 (8) the sale of blank cartridges for use in radio,
3-8 television, film, or theater productions, for signal or ceremonial
3-9 purposes in athletic events, or for industrial purposes;
3-10 (9) the use of any pyrotechnic device by military
3-11 organizations; or
3-12 (10) the use, in an organized fireworks display, of
3-13 any pyrotechnic device by an amusement park.
3-14 (e) In this section:
3-15 (1) "Amusement park" means a permanent indoor or
3-16 outdoor facility or park where amusement rides, as defined by
3-17 Article 21.60, Insurance Code, are available for use by the public.
3-18 The term includes a water-based or marine recreational amusement
3-19 park.
3-20 (2) "Fireworks" means any composition or device
3-21 primarily designed to produce a visible or audible effect by
3-22 combustion, explosion, deflagration, or detonation for an
3-23 entertainment purpose.
3-24 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
3-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-26 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-27 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-2 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-3 passage, and it is so enacted.