SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Legislature could look at changes to state fireworks laws to give cities greater flexibility to enact bans similar to what Governor Spencer Cox did through an emergency order.
Under current Utah law, cities are largely prohibited from enacting blanket bans on personal fireworks. They can restrict them in areas of their communities. But facing an extreme wildfire situation around the Fourth of July, Gov. Cox issued an emergency order and suspended the law. It allowed the Utah State Forester to then issue an order enacting a statewide blanket ban. Communities were allowed to designate areas where fireworks could be set off.
For Pioneer Day, cities were given the choice to ban or not ban personal fireworks, and the state was a patchwork. Asked how the ban went, Gov. Cox said: "Really great, and I hated it. I absolutely hated that we had to do that."
But the governor thanked Utahns for complying with the emergency order, describing the appreciation of firefighters and first responders who were already overworked with wildfires.
In interviews with FOX 13 News, many mayors said they liked the ability to choose what's best for their cities and said they would like to continue doing it.
"What I like about what the State Forester did is they let local control be there. Every community is different," said West Jordan Mayor Dirk Burton, who banned fireworks for the Fourth of July but allowed them (with restrictions) for Pioneer Day.
Across the border in Midvale, Mayor Dustin Gettel went with an all-out ban for both holidays. He also signaled support for looking at a law change.
"I would like to see the legislature at least look at it and perhaps return that control to the municipalities," Mayor Gettel told FOX 13 News in a recent interview.
Moab was set to test Utah law when the mayor and council declared a state of emergency and enacted a fireworks ban ahead of the governor's emergency order. Moab city leaders pointed to the massive Babylon Fire burning nearby as justification, and their fire chief said they had no incidents related to fireworks on the Fourth of July.
The Utah League of Cities & Towns has said it is discussing modifications to Utah fireworks laws with lawmakers. But League President and Bountiful Mayor Kate Bradshaw cautioned they were in their infancy.
"I'm a fan of more options for cities. More tools in the toolbox," she said. "All of our cities have different conditions on the ground, different geographic locations whether you’re against a mountainside or in the middle of a valley."
Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, who runs a lot of fireworks bills, said the discussions are centering around broadening the scope of the power of cities to declare emergencies and enact bans.
"Frankly, I don’t think the mayor should do that," Rep. Dunnigan told FOX 13 News. "It should be the city council, the county commission or the town council. We intentionally want more electeds involved instead of one person making the decisions. More elected officials that then have to be accountable to their electorate."
Rep. Dunnigan said he would wait until after wildfire season ends before bringing together city leaders, firefighters, fireworks manufacturers and sellers to discuss it in earnest. He would not commit to any changes to the laws but welcomed stakeholder discussion.
"I expect to have a robust and lively debate," he said.
