Banning Fireworks

Last year was one of the worst in history for wildfires in the state and a number of those fires were caused by fireworks. A proposed ban on consumer fireworks is getting a lot of attention in the Washington State Capital. The ban was proposed by State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege who is a firefighter by profession. Another bill by Rep. Brad Hawkins and Rep. Mia Gregerson would remove the one-year waiting period for local governments to adopt fireworks ordinances.

HAWKINS: We had drought conditions, unusually high heat, and we had numerous fires and local governments wanted to take action to prohibit fireworks at that time for a window of time and they still couldn't do that legally. My bill allows them to do that.

Hawkins seeks to protect cities from fire danger. Current state law requires that if counties and cities adopt rules that are more strict than the minimum state standards, they cannot go into effect until at least one year after local adoption. Hawkins says this requirement is too prescriptive to local governments and it's time for change.

HAWKINS: We should be able to empower the local leaders at the local levels to make the decisions that they believe are in the best interest of the communities. That's why they're elected to do that.

Hawkins and Gregerson have gathered nearly 30 bipartisan co-sponsors for the bill.

And that's Washington Ag Today. I'm Greg Martin, thanks for listening on the Ag Information Network of the West.