Rep. Brad Hawkins fireworks bill up for discussion this week

January 12, 2016

Washington's disastrous wildfires will be on the minds of lawmakers Thursday when the House considers a bill that would make it easier for cities and counties to enforce fireworks ordinances.  Ruth Johnson reports from Olympia.

Johnson: Hundreds of square miles of land burned in our state last year, homes were lost and three firefighters were killed.  Hawkins is concerned about the potential danger of fireworks.  He says he wants local governments to be able to take action at the moment it's needed.

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.”

Johnson: Hawkins, along with democrat Mia Gregerson, are introducing legislation that would remove the one-year waiting period for local governments to adopt fireworks ordinances.  They've gathered 30 bipartisan co-sponsors.  In Olympia, I'm Ruth Johnson.