By Hamric H.B. No. 890 76R4244 CAG-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the regulation of fireworks by certain counties; 1-3 providing a criminal penalty. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 240, Local Government Code, 1-6 is amended by adding Section 240.9045 to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 240.9045. ADDITIONAL COUNTY REGULATION OF FIREWORKS. 1-8 (a) This section applies only to a county that has a population of 1-9 one million or more and that has a population of 100,000 or more in 1-10 the unincorporated area of the county. 1-11 (b) In this section, "fireworks" means any composition or 1-12 device designed for entertainment to produce a visible or audible 1-13 effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration, or detonation. 1-14 (c) This section does not apply to: 1-15 (1) toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns, or other devices 1-16 that use paper or plastic caps in sheets, strips, rolls, or 1-17 individual caps containing not more than an average of 25 1-18 hundredths of a grain of explosive composition for each cap and 1-19 that are packed and shipped according to 49 C.F.R. Part 173 (1996); 1-20 (2) model rockets and model rocket motors designed, 1-21 sold, and used for the purpose of propelling recoverable aero 1-22 models; 1-23 (3) propelling or expelling charges consisting of a 1-24 mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate; 2-1 (4) novelties and trick noisemakers; 2-2 (5) the sale, at wholesale, of any type of fireworks 2-3 by a resident manufacturer, distributor, importer, or jobber if the 2-4 fireworks are intended for shipment directly out of state in 2-5 accordance with the regulations of the United States Department of 2-6 Transportation; 2-7 (6) the sale, and use in emergency situations, of 2-8 pyrotechnic signaling devices or distress signals for marine, 2-9 aviation, or highway use; 2-10 (7) the use of fusee and railway torpedoes by 2-11 railroads; 2-12 (8) the sale of blank cartridges for use in radio, 2-13 television, film, or theater productions, for signal or ceremonial 2-14 purposes in athletic events, or for industrial purposes; 2-15 (9) the use of any pyrotechnic device by military 2-16 organizations; or 2-17 (10) a public fireworks display conducted by a 2-18 licensed pyrotechnic operator. 2-19 (d) To protect the public health or safety, the 2-20 commissioners court of a county by order may prohibit or otherwise 2-21 regulate the use of fireworks in any part of the unincorporated 2-22 area of the county. This authority is in addition to the county's 2-23 authority to regulate fireworks under Section 240.904. 2-24 (e) A person selling fireworks in a county that has adopted 2-25 an order under Subsection (d) shall, at every location at which the 2-26 person sells fireworks in the county, provide reasonable notice of 2-27 the order and reasonable notice of any area where the sale, 3-1 possession, or use of fireworks is prohibited or regulated under 3-2 Subsection (d). 3-3 (f) A commissioners court that adopts an order under 3-4 Subsection (d) shall send a copy of the order to the state fire 3-5 marshal not later than the 30th day after the date the order is 3-6 adopted. 3-7 (g) The state fire marshal shall send a copy of each order 3-8 received under Subsection (f) to each licensed manufacturer, 3-9 distributor, and jobber in the affected county not later than the 3-10 30th day after the date the fire marshal receives the order. 3-11 (h) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly 3-12 violates a prohibition or other regulation established by an order 3-13 adopted under this section. An offense under this subsection is a 3-14 Class C misdemeanor. 3-15 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 3-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 3-20 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 3-21 passage, and it is so enacted.