Bush won't sign a fireworks ban

By JULIE HAUSERMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- Saying they are stretched to the limit this wildfire season, Florida's fire chiefs are begging Gov. Jeb Bush to ban fireworks sales. But Bush declined to impose a ban Thursday, saying the move would be premature.

Instead, in a letter to the fire chiefs, the governor promised to enforce existing state laws and "pray that these conditions improve quickly."

Bush spokesman Justin Sayfie said that since some Florida counties are dry and others aren't, Bush wants to leave decisions to local authorities. So far, more than two dozen counties, including those in the Tampa Bay area, have banned or set limits on fireworks.

In any case, the Fourth of July is nearly a month away, and conditions might change by then, Sayfie said.

"We're disappointed," said Larry Scovotto, executive director of the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association. "These fireworks companies have tremendous political power in this state. We've got a thousand-acre fire in Lee County. We've already lost a helicopter pilot.

"Our feeling is, they banned open burning statewide, why not ban fireworks statewide? Our resources are stretched to the limit. It's even worse drought conditions now than it was in 1998."

That year, Gov. Lawton Chiles banned fireworks sales statewide, sparking two lawsuits from fireworks companies that are still pending. One of the suits seeks millions of dollars in damages from the state to pay for lost business and out-of-pocket expenses. It was filed in 1999 in Hillsborough Circuit Court, said Steven Wenzel, the Tampa lawyer who represents the Florida Fireworks Association. The case has not yet been heard.

The second suit, which challenges the governor's authority to impose a ban, is on appeal in Fort Lauderdale, Wenzel said.

"You can't just stop a legitimate business without paying compensation," Wenzel said. "In this business, when you don't sell it by July 4, you're not going to sell it -- at least until Jan. 1. And you lose inventory, because it doesn't store well."

Sharon Hunnewell, president of the Florida Fireworks Association, estimates that fireworks companies lost about $20-million in 1998. Some companies got low-interest loans through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration.

While fire officials worry that errant sparks will fuel more wildfires, the fireworks industry is fighting back. Two years ago, fireworks companies hired a fleet of top-gun Tallahassee lobbyists and a consultant who was once a top Division of Forestry official. During the 1999 Legislature, the industry got Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, to slip an amendment onto a state wildfire-fighting bill that would have prevented Florida's governor from banning fireworks sales during drought. The measure later failed.

This year, Florida Fire Chiefs' Association president Dennis Merrifield sent a letter to Bush on Memorial Day, asking him to ban fireworks sales statewide. Merrifield suggested, however, that Florida could allow professional fireworks shows to go on.

The Florida Fireworks Association claims that the state doesn't have statistics to prove that wildfires are caused by fireworks. The Division of Forestry lumps fireworks into the "miscellaneous" category when it records the causes of wildfires.

"Careless disposal of cigarettes caused 60 fires so far this year. If the goal is to prevent wildfires, it makes more sense to ban cigarettes, barbecue grills, lighter fluid and matches than it does to ban fireworks," the fireworks association said in a statement.

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