pdf version -
Fireworks Legislation
SUBCHAPTER C. FIREWORKS
§ 352.051. REGULATION OF RESTRICTED FIREWORKS. (a) For
the purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Restricted fireworks" means only those items
classified under 49 C.F.R. § 173.100(r)(2) (10-1-86 edition), as
"skyrockets with sticks" and "missiles with fins".
(2) "Drought conditions" shall mean the existence
immediately preceding or during the fireworks season of a long-term
deficit of moisture creating atypically severe conditions with
increased wildfire occurrence as defined by the Texas Forest
Service through the use of the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, or when
such index is not available, through a comparable measurement which
takes into consideration the burning index, spread component, or
ignition component for that particular area.
(b)(1) The Texas Forest Service in the ordinary course of its
activities shall determine whether drought conditions, as defined
under Subsection (a)(2), exist in all or part of any county
requesting such determination. The Texas Forest Service shall make
available the measurement index guidelines that determine whether a
particular area is in drought condition. Following any
determination that such drought conditions exist, the Texas Forest
Service shall notify said county or counties when such drought
conditions no longer exist.
(2) The Texas Forest Service shall be allowed to take
such donations of equipment or funds as necessary to aid in the
carrying out of this section.
(c) Upon a determination under this section that drought
conditions exist within all or part of a specified county, the
commissioners court of such county by order may prohibit or
restrict the sale or use of restricted fireworks in all or a portion
of the unincorporated area of the county where drought conditions
have been determined to exist. In addition, during the December
fireworks season, the commissioners court of a county by order may
restrict or prohibit the sale or use of restricted fireworks in
specified areas when conditions on rural acreage in the county not
under cultivation for a period of at least 12 months are determined
to be extremely hazardous for the danger of fire because of high
grass or dry vegetation.
(d) To facilitate compliance with an order adopted under
Subsection (c), the order must be adopted before:
(1) June 15 of each year for the Fourth of July
fireworks season; and
(2) December 15 of each year for each December
fireworks season.
(e) An order issued under this section shall expire upon
determination as provided under Subsection (b) that such drought
conditions no longer exist.
(f) The county may designate one or more areas of
appropriate size and accessibility in the county as safe areas
where the use of restricted fireworks is not prohibited. The safe
area may be provided by the county, a municipality within the
county, or an individual, business, or corporation. A safe area may
be designated in and provided in the geographic area of the
regulatory jurisdiction of a municipality if the activity conducted
in the safe area is authorized by general law or a municipal
regulation or ordinance. An area is considered safe if adequate
public safety and fire protection services are provided to the
area. A county, municipality, individual, business, or corporation
is not liable for injuries or damages resulting from the
designation, maintenance, or use of the safe area.
(g) A person selling any type of fireworks, including
restricted fireworks, in a county that has adopted an order under
Subsection (c) shall, at every location at which the person sells
fireworks in the county, provide reasonable notice of the order and
reasonable notice of any location designated under Subsection (f)
as a safe area.
(h) An affected party is entitled to injunctive relief to
prevent the violation or threatened violation of a requirement or
prohibition established by an order adopted under this section.
(i) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or
intentionally violates a prohibition established by an order issued
under this section. An offense under this subsection is a Class C
misdemeanor.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 865, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 500, § 1, eff. Aug. 28,
1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1399, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1244, § 1 to 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Renumbered from § 240.904 by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, §
12.004, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.