It’s something he has been working on for the past couple sessions, and District 10 State Senator Jake Chapman is hopeful 2016 is the year the fireworks laws change in Iowa.
“The fireworks bill was passed through the House, it’s not sitting in the Senate. I had conversations with the chairman of the state government committee the other day. There is full intentions of moving that forward again this year and hopefully we’ll see something move on that issue this year. I think we’ve got a great opportunity to get that passed, again this is a bipartisan issue that has support on both sides of the aisle, in both chambers. We just need to get it passed out of the Senate, get it over to the House and down to the governor’s desk.”
Senator Chapman, who annually applies for a fireworks permit himself for the 4th of July holiday, says it comes down to Iowans having the same freedom that residents in 40 plus other states have. If well thought out and focused on safety, he feels Iowa can see a decrease in fireworks injuries, similar to what other states have experienced.