Cities around Iowa are keeping a close eye on a particular bill in the legislature that would take away much of the local power to regulate the sale and use of fireworks.
Fireworks became legal two years ago, but most cities adopted restrictions on them in the name of public safety. Since then, legislators led by State Senator Jake Chapman, (R) District 10, say they’ve heard complaints from fireworks retailers on the wide variety of local zoning regulations, as well as calls from citizens confused about when and where they could shoot them off. This session, Chapman has proposed Senate Study Bill 1035, which he said will normalize the fireworks commerce statewide, while requiring cities to allow the discharge of fireworks on the Fourth of July.
The proposition has not sat well with cities, as they say it strips their ability to decide for themselves what’s in their own best interest. Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson emphasizes that cities around Iowa are in no way uniform to each other, so he feels trying to force uniformity is a bad idea. “With fireworks, what’s good for one community might not work for another. Every community is so different that these are the decisions that are very important to leave up to the people in those communities. It’s not something that should be brought down from the Statehouse and forced upon these communities. It’s just not right, and it’s not the direction that I think the state should be headed.”
The new fireworks bill has been vehemently opposed by Democrats in the legislature, as well as by the Iowa League of Cities, Police Chief Association, Firefighters Association, and the Iowa State Association of Counties. Additionally, several individual city councils have publicly stated their dissent of the bill, including Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City, as have many veterans groups and emergency management agencies. The City of Perry allows fireworks to be fired on the Fourth of July already, though they have strict rules on the timeframe and locations they are allowed.