An Iowa legislator gives her stance on a potential bill that would restrict communities when it comes to fireworks.

Senate File 303 is a piece of legislation that seeks to prohibit city and county governments from regulating Iowans to use fireworks on July 3rd, 4th, and December 31st. Iowa District 14 Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott acknowledges that fireworks are a contentious issue as she hears the concerns from many residents about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for Veterans, people with pets or young children, as well as general safety. She discusses an incident that occurred in Clive a couple of years ago involving fireworks.

“There was a fireworks vendor that had an entire shipping container full of fireworks and it caught on fire. And it was on the verge of being a huge disaster. I mean they were able to get it put out, but somebody was lighting up fireworks in the parking lot, right by where they bought them at night, and some smoldering rubbage caught this shipping container on fire.”

Even though the bill ended up passing the Senate, Trone-Garriott voted against it stressing that cities should have rules on safety and disturbances in their communities. The bill also passed the House 51-39 and is heading to Governor Kim Reynolds’ desk to potentially be signed into law.