BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1468
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 20, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 1468 (Calderon) - As Amended: June 15, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Fireworks.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks
between Christmas and New Year's Day in 2014-15 and 2015-16,
permits limited recovery of specified costs by local
governments, and provides for a two-year fireworks data
collection effort to be funded by voluntary contributions from
the fireworks industry. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to issue separate
one-time licenses authorizing the retail sale of safe and sane
fireworks from 9 a.m. on December 26 to 11:59 p.m. on January
1 of the following year, inclusive. A license shall be valid
only for this seven-day period.
2)Requires that all fireworks sold pursuant to this license be
certified as safe and sane by the SFM on or before June 15 of
the year in which the license commences.
3)Prohibits the issuance of a license unless the charter city,
city, county, city and county, or fire protection district
having jurisdiction over the location where the fireworks
would be sold adopts an ordinance or resolution allowing that
sale, and the application for that license is received by the
SFM on or before December 15 of the year in which the validity
of the license is to commence.
4)Permits the authorizing ordinance or resolution to limit the
period of use of the fireworks sold to specified days and
hours.
5)States that the provisions regarding the issuance of licenses
(sections #1-4 above) shall become inoperative on January 2,
2016, and as of January 1, 2017, be repealed, unless a later
statute deletes or extends the dates.
6)Establishes a Fireworks Special Data Collection Program
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(Program).
7)Requires the SFM on or before December 1 of 2013 and 2014 to,
in consultation with the General Fireworks Advisory Committee
(Committee), determine an appropriate sum, not to exceed the
amount reasonably necessary, for the activities of the Program
for targeted jurisdictions and the state for the following
year.
8)Requires the moneys collected by the SFM for the activities of
the Program to be deposited into the Fireworks Special Data
Collection Fund (Fund), and continuously appropriated to the
SFM for costs incurred by the SFM and local participating
jurisdictions related to the Program, and may not be used for
any other purpose.
9)Authorizes the Fund to receive voluntary contributions from
the fireworks industry and available federal or private
grants.
10)Authorizes, on or before November 1, 2013, the SFM and the
Committee to review, revise and approve a plan developed in
conjunction with one or more representatives of the fireworks
industry to collect and analyze data pertaining to the sale of
fireworks and related fire, injury, and disposal issues.
11)Specifies that the plan shall contain, but not be limited to,
a sample design and selection method to accurately capture a
representative data set to be used for statistical analysis
relating to fires, damages, seizures, arrests, administrative
citations, and fireworks disposal issues caused by dangerous
fireworks and safe and sane fireworks for the periods
surrounding the 4th of July and New Year's Eve holidays.
12)Requires that the data set be verified by a university or
other nationally recognized independent survey design expert
selected by one or more representatives of the fireworks
industry and approved by the SFM, and requires this plan for
data collection to attempt to collect the requisite data in
the target communities and in those communities immediately
adjoining or contiguous to the target communities.
13)Prohibits the sale of safe and sane fireworks for the period
of 9 a.m. on December 26 of 2014 and 2015 to 11:59 p.m., on
January 1 of the following year, inclusive, unless, by
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December 31 of the previous year the SFM, in consultation with
the Committee, determines that there are sufficient funds
within the Fund to cover the actual and reasonable costs
associated with the Program for that year.
14)States that the provisions regarding the Program and the Fund
(sections #6-13 above) shall become inoperative on January 15,
2016, and as of January 1, 2017, are repealed, unless a later
statute deletes or extends the dates.
15)Authorizes a charter city, city, county, city and county, or
fire protection district by adoption of an ordinance or
resolution, to require applicants to pay a fee representing a
pro rata portion of the actual and reasonable costs incurred
on or before January 2, 2016, related to:
a) Processing and issuing permits;
b) Inspection of fireworks stands;
c) Public education and awareness campaigns regarding safe
and sane fireworks and illegal fireworks;
d) Enforcement of relevant local ordinances and
resolutions, including extra personnel time and cleanup
costs; and,
e) Fire operation and suppression efforts that are directly
related to safe and sane fireworks.
1)Requires the authorizing ordinance or resolution to specify
the pro rata share of costs to be recovered.
2)Prohibits the pro rata share of costs paid by licensees from
exceeding 7% of the gross sales of the fireworks sold in the
jurisdiction during the applicable period, although a cost
recovery ordinance or resolution in effect on or before June
30, 2012, may supersede that prohibition.
3)States that the provisions regarding fees and cost recovery
(sections #15-17 above) shall become inoperative on July 2,
2016, and as of January 1, 2017, are repealed, unless a later
statute deletes or extends the dates.
4)Declares that no reimbursement is required under Article XIII
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B of the California Constitution because the only costs that
may be incurred relate to the creation, elimination or change
to a crime or infraction.
5)Makes findings and declarations related to the need for
additional data collection related to fireworks, which shall
be paid for through voluntary contributions from the fireworks
industry.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes, via the State Fireworks Law, a comprehensive
scheme for regulating the use, manufacture, wholesale, import,
export, and sale of all classes of fireworks.
2)Authorizes the SFM to license retailers to sell certified safe
and sane fireworks from June 28 to July 6 each year, unless
otherwise prohibited by local ordinance.
3)Authorizes the SFM to issue a wholesaler's license to allow
the sale and transportation of all types of fireworks to
licensed retailers, or retailers operating under a permit,
licensed public display operators, and other licensed
wholesalers in California.
4)Requires the SFM to establish and collect original and annual
renewal fees for fireworks licenses, not to exceed the amount
necessary to cover the SFM's administrative and enforcement
costs.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill contains:
1)Unknown costs related to the Program (non-state funds). These
activities would be funded by voluntary contributions from the
fireworks industry, and the SFM must determine that sufficient
funds are on deposit prior to authorizing the sale of safe and
sane fireworks.
2)Potential for unknown increased costs to the SFM related to
disposal of illegal fireworks.
If there were a 10% increase in illegal fireworks seizures
related to the sale of safe and sane fireworks around New
Year's Eve, increased costs would be approximately $45,000
(General Fund).
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3)Absorbable costs to the SFM and the Committee to review and
approve a plan to collect and analyze data on fire, injury,
and disposal issues related to the sale of fireworks, and to
determine the amount necessary to cover costs associated with
the data collection program.
4)Minor costs to the SFM to issue retail licenses for the sale
of safe and sane fireworks around New Year's Eve, fully
covered by license fees.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill would permit local governments to authorize and
license the sale of safe and sane fireworks for the periods
between Christmas and New Year's Day for the years 2014 and
2015, while allowing limited recovery of specified costs by
local governments and providing for the creation of a two-year
fireworks data collection effort funded by voluntary
contributions from the fireworks industry.
The bill requires local agencies to approve the expanded sale
dates by ordinance or resolution prior to issuing licenses.
Local governments may also require applicants to pay a fee to
reimburse the costs borne by local agencies related to issuing
permits, inspecting stands, public education, legal
enforcement and cleanup, and fire operation and suppression,
calculated pro rata based on gross sales not to exceed 7% of
gross sales in the jurisdiction.
In case more than one local agency intends to claim costs under
this section and the total claimed costs exceed the 7% cap,
the authorizing ordinance or resolution shall specify how
those reimbursements shall be shared between local agencies.
This cost recovery authorization applies to both the July 4th
and New Year's Eve holidays through January 2, 2016.
This bill also provides for the creation of a Fireworks
Special Data Collection Program, which will assemble over the
course of two years a representative data set relating to
fires, damages, seizes, arrests, administrative citations and
fireworks disposal issues caused by all forms of fireworks.
The program will be supported by a special, continuously
appropriated fund operated by the SFM and funded by voluntary
contributions from the fireworks industry and perhaps 3d party
grants as well. The SFM would be required to annually
determine the amount needed to operate the Program, with the
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power to disallow the issuance of licenses if there are
insufficient funds to operate the Program in the following
year.
The measure is sponsored by American Promotional Events, Inc.
(TNT Fireworks).
2)According to the sponsor, "�c]urrently, over 290 communities
throughout the State of California have ordinances or
resolutions allowing the sale and use of Safe and Sane
Fireworks within their jurisdiction each 4th of July. All of
these jurisdictions, with a few exceptions, restrict the
retail sale of these fireworks to nonprofit, community-based
organizations within their jurisdiction. Currently, there are
over 3,000 nonprofit organizations in these 290+ communities
who rely on Safe and Sane Fireworks as their primary source of
funding for the incredible programs they provide in their
communities and who collectively gross in excess of $70
million each 4th of July?These nonprofit and community
organizations are in need of additional avenues of funding
beyond those which they currently employ, if they are to
continue to meet the critical needs and programs that they
fund in their communities in these lean economic times."
The sponsor also estimates that local jurisdictions could
generate roughly an additional
$4.9 million in new revenues for the 4th of July each year and
over another $1 million
for the New Year's period.
3)In March 2012, the Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on
Emergency Management, Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal,
inaugurated a stakeholder working group to discuss the full
spectrum of issues associated with fireworks sales, use, and
disposal in California with the objective of crafting and
introducing comprehensive fireworks reform legislation
sometime in 2013-2014. The working group aims to tackle
issues including environmental concerns regarding fireworks
disposal, uncertainty of funding options, the need for data on
the safety and cost impacts of fireworks use, and problems
with enforcement. Some of the ideas currently being discussed
include the potential expansion of fireworks sales dates, the
out-of-state resale of seized illegal fireworks, and the
identification of new funding sources to support the
environmentally-responsible disposal of illegal fireworks.
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Given that the discussions of the working group, which includes
the fireworks industry, began just three months ago, the
Committee may wish to discuss how the provisions of the bill
relate to the efforts of the working group.
4)In previous legislative attempts to extend fireworks sales
dates, public safety officials have argued that expanding
sales would harm the public by increasing fireworks-related
injuries, damage, and costs related to both safe-and-sane and
illegal fireworks. Fire officials have previously stated that
expanded fireworks sales increases the incidence of fires and
injuries, while driving up local overtime costs for emergency
response, and also cause a related increase in the importation
and use of illegal fireworks. Conversely, the SFM has also
previously stated that fire danger is significantly lower in
late December than in July.
However, data on fireworks impacts in California are said to be
incomplete at best, and fireworks advocates and some public
officials disagree about how the available data should be
interpreted - a situation this bill attempts to address by
creating a two-year data collection program. This bill also
attempts to ameliorate negative impacts from expanded sales by
permitting local agencies to recover costs for processing
permits, inspecting fireworks stands, enforcement and fire
operation and suppression - but only up to 7% of gross sales
in the jurisdiction.
In the absence of consensus, or even solid data, about impacts
from expanded fireworks sales, the Committee may wish to
discuss whether or not fireworks sales should be expanded
while data is being collected on their impact, or if fireworks
sales should not be expanded until data is assembled showing
that their impact will not be inordinate.
1)Legislation has been offered multiple times in prior years to
authorize the sale of fireworks for the New Year's holiday,
and also to begin the study of fireworks impacts, including:
AB 2090 (Miller), Chapter 363, Statutes of 1998, authorized
the State Fire Marshal to issue a one-time retail license to
permit the sale of certified fireworks from 9:00 on December
26, 1999, until midnight of January 1, 2000, in anticipation
of the millennial celebration.
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AB 1295 (Bermudez, 2005) would have allowed New Year's
fire-works sales and used fee revenues to pay for disposal
costs associated with seized fireworks. The measure died on
the suspense file in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 923 (Chavez, 2005) would have authorized the sale of
fireworks from December 26 to January 1 and would have created
the State Fire Marshal Dangerous Fireworks Management Fund for
the deposit of surcharges assessed on the sale of fireworks to
pay for the disposal costs of seized fireworks. The measure
failed passage in the Assembly Committee on Governmental
Organization.
SB 839 (Calderon), Chapter 563, Statutes of 2007, revised the
penalties for possession and transportation of dangerous
fireworks, and established a fund from the proceeds for
enforcement of dangerous fireworks law. The measure also
required the SFM to identify and evaluate methods to capture
detailed data relating to fires, damages, and injuries caused
by both dangerous fireworks and safe and sane fireworks.
Those evaluation methods include a cost analysis related to
capturing and reporting the data.
AB 1371 (V. Manuel Perez, 2011) would have allowed New Year's
fireworks sales and authorized local governments to impose
permit fees. The measure failed passage in the Assembly
Committee on Governmental Organization.
2)Support arguments : According to the sponsor, "SB 1468
preserves local control and, at the same time, assists in
raising the necessary funds to assist state and local fire and
law enforcement agencies to have the critical financial
resources to deal with?enforcement, education, fire operation,
suppression and training activities...SB 1468 will �also]
allow nonprofit organizations throughout the state an
additional opportunity to raise critical dollars to fund
critical programs in their community?"
Opposition arguments : According to the Orange County Fire
Authority, "SB 1468 seeks to create additional times of year
during which "safe and sane" fireworks can be sold?However,
the simple fact is that all fireworks are inherently dangerous
and cause injury. This danger cannot be ameliorated by
fees?This bill may have an unsustainable fiscal impact on fire
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departments and law enforcement agencies that already must
increase staffing during the holiday periods. The undue
burden and costs to local agencies will far exceed the
permitting fee structure in this bill."
3)This bill is double-referred to the Assembly Committee on
Governmental Organization.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Promotional Events, Inc. (TNT Fireworks) �SPONSOR]
314 local non-profit, religious, educational and social
organizations
688 individuals
Opposition
City of Burbank
Orange County Fire Authority
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958