A bill allowing the year-round sale of fireworks in permanent structures and permitting use of consumer fireworks on election day passed an Iowa House subcommittee on Thursday.
House File 44 was supported by Tyler Raygor of Americans for Prosperity. Raygor said the group wouldn’t mind seeing the use of fireworks allowed on other holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth and Columbus Day.
Cyndi Pederson spoke against the bill on behalf of Iowa Fire Chiefs Association, Iowa Association of Professional Fire Chiefs and the Iowa Firefighters Association.
Pederson said injuries have continue to increase every year since implementation of consumer fireworks. Adding more days to the calendar for shooting off fireworks will lead to more injuries, she added.
Pederson also said allowing year-round sales of fireworks puts a burden of safety on storing fireworks and claimed they could be “as dangerous as guns.”
Tony Phillips, who represents Phantom Fireworks Showrooms LLC, said the bill is a move in the right direction. If the state wants businesses to invest in a physical facility and permanent structure, it is difficult to expect them to do so when they can only be open for a short period of time throughout the year.
Democrat State Rep. Brian Meyer sat in on the subcommittee for Democrat State Rep. Eric Gjerde. Meyer asked if the Department of Inspections and Appeals inspects brick-and-mortar fireworks locations. Nobody knew the answer.
Meyer said he knows the city of Des Moines handles a lot of complaints regarding fireworks and asked if Republican State Rep. Bill Gustoff would be open to making enforcement a little more enhanced for cities.
But Gustoff said if it were up to him, he’d open up the use of fireworks and wouldn’t have local regulations.
Republican State Rep. Jason Gearhart joined Gustoff in supporting the bill.
