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For years, anyone in Texas bringing fireworks into a prohibitive area, like the city of Houston, risked having their fireworks confiscated, whether or not they were taken out of the box.
Sue Davis, a spokesperson with Top Dog Fireworks in Northwest Harris County, says earlier this month Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a measure that gives fireworks fans a little leeway.
“They have to be packaged and unopened. They can’t be loose, and they have to be put in say, a locked glove box or trunk, or the cargo area of another vehicle. The idea is that you can transport them in, but no one in the car can have access to them.”
She says many customers beat the rush and buy them early. Now they can take them home, even if they live in the city:
“And then on the 4th of July, go out in the country or somewhere in the unincorporated area shoot them off. But in the past, you have not been able to even take fireworks into a city that banned them. So this is transportation only. It has to be where they cannot be accessed by anybody in the car, and they have to be in very specific areas.”
The recent wet weather has kept officials from having to issue a ban because of the dry conditions.
“I think we’re doing fine this year, none of the fireworks [are] going to be banned. We’ve had enough rain, but of course, that means people still always have to be careful and you always have to follow other common sense rules, even if the weather is good.”
This year a portion of a special red, white and blue firework called “Folds of Honor” will go to a nonprofit that provides scholarships for spouses and dependents of wounded or fallen service members.