Last week, talks began on a proposed bill in the Iowa legislature that would wrest local control of fireworks sales and use from counties and cities. On Saturday, 6th District Senator, Mark Segebart, and 12th District House Representative, Brian Best, attended the Carroll Chamber of Commerce’s first Legislative Forum of the season. Mike Pogge-Weaver, broached the subject during the question-and-answer segment of the event. He says Home Rule was enacted 50 years ago, which gave local cities powers that are constitutionally derived rather than from state government. He asked if the senator and representative believed in local control and what their stance will be on the proposed changes to the two-year-old fireworks bill. Best says he had reservations about this legislation to begin with.
He had believed the precedents set by other states would work well for them too and he has always been a free-rights kind of guy. However, instead he saw chaos. He also addressed a suggestion from Pogge-Weaver that the lawmakers take a ride with the Carroll Police Department on July 4th.
Segebart told attendees he had just heard about the bill this past Wednesday. All he knows is what he has heard on the radio, but he did present his viewpoints on local control.
He adds that the only thing the state ought to require is whether or not a stoplight should be put up in the community. Based on what he knows at this point, he would be a no vote on the bill.
The legislators also fielded questions on mental-healthcare and Managed Care Organizations, sports betting and the likelihood of the retention of the commercial tax backfill and the SAVE, one-cent sales tax credit for school improvements. We will bring you more on these topics in upcoming news broadcasts.
