Bill Text: TX SB134 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of fireworks by counties; providing a criminal penalty.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-31 - Referred to Intergovernmental Relations [SB134 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-SB134-Introduced.html
| 82R587 EAH-F | ||
| By: Wentworth | S.B. No. 134 | |
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| relating to the regulation of fireworks by counties; providing a | ||
| criminal penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 352, Local Government | ||
| Code, is amended by adding Section 352.052 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 352.052. ADDITIONAL COUNTY REGULATION OF | ||
| FIREWORKS. (a) In this section, "fireworks" means any | ||
| composition or device designed for entertainment to produce a | ||
| visible or audible effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration, | ||
| or detonation. | ||
| (b) This section does not apply to: | ||
| (1) toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns, or other devices | ||
| that use paper or plastic caps in sheets, strips, rolls, or | ||
| individual caps containing not more than an average of 25/100 of a | ||
| grain of explosive composition for each cap and that are packed and | ||
| shipped according to 49 C.F.R. Part 173 (1996); | ||
| (2) model rockets and model rocket motors designed, | ||
| sold, and used for the purpose of propelling recoverable aero | ||
| models; | ||
| (3) propelling or expelling charges consisting of a | ||
| mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate; | ||
| (4) novelties and trick noisemakers; | ||
| (5) the sale, at wholesale, of any type of fireworks by | ||
| a resident manufacturer, distributor, importer, or jobber if the | ||
| fireworks are intended for shipment directly out of state in | ||
| accordance with the regulations of the United States Department of | ||
| Transportation; | ||
| (6) the sale, and use in emergency situations, of | ||
| pyrotechnic signaling devices or distress signals for marine, | ||
| aviation, or highway use; | ||
| (7) the use of fusee and railway torpedoes by | ||
| railroads; | ||
| (8) the sale of blank cartridges for use in radio, | ||
| television, film, or theater productions, for signal or ceremonial | ||
| purposes in athletic events, or for industrial purposes; | ||
| (9) the use of any pyrotechnic device by military | ||
| organizations; or | ||
| (10) a public fireworks display conducted by a | ||
| licensed pyrotechnic operator. | ||
| (c) To protect the public health or safety, the | ||
| commissioners court of a county may order an election held in any | ||
| defined unincorporated area of the county on the question of | ||
| whether to prohibit the sale, possession, and use of fireworks in | ||
| that area. | ||
| (d) The ballot for the election shall be printed to provide | ||
| for voting for or against the proposition: "Prohibiting the sale, | ||
| possession, and use of fireworks in the (describe the defined | ||
| unincorporated area) in the unincorporated area of (name of) | ||
| County." | ||
| (e) If a majority of the votes cast at the election approve | ||
| the proposition, the commissioners court by order shall, as soon as | ||
| feasible after the election, prohibit the sale, possession, and use | ||
| of fireworks in the defined unincorporated area of the county that | ||
| approved the proposition. | ||
| (f) The commissioners court shall provide, at various | ||
| locations in the area where the sale, possession, and use of | ||
| fireworks is prohibited, reasonable notice of the prohibition. | ||
| (g) The commissioners court shall send a copy of the order | ||
| to the state fire marshal not later than the 30th day after the date | ||
| the order is adopted. | ||
| (h) The state fire marshal shall send a copy of each order | ||
| received under Subsection (g) to each licensed manufacturer, | ||
| distributor, and jobber in the affected county not later than the | ||
| 30th day after the date the fire marshal receives the order. | ||
| (i) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly | ||
| violates a prohibition established by an order adopted under this | ||
| section. An offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2011. | ||
