County Commissioner Haggerty against firework-restrictive bills

Two bills in the state legislature aim to restrict the use of fireworks.

All of the El Paso County Commissioners were in favor of these bills except Andrew Haggerty.

“By outlawing them, all we do is push all that revenue and all those businesses to New Mexico. We’re still having the same problems. We have fireworks that are going across county lines,” Haggerty said. “I think they’re just a little too constrictive for me to be able to vote for them.”

House Bill 3639 would allow the commissioners court to prohibit fireworks without consulting a drought index. As it stands right now, the County can ban fireworks if the drought index gets too high. This bill has yet to have a hearing.

House Bill 1183 would allow the county to prohibit fireworks during certain hours. failure to comply with this could be a criminal offense. That bill has passed committee.

“Some of my great memories as a child were shooting off fireworks with my family on Fourth of July,” Haggerty said. “Just because some people take it too far, just because some people don’t clean up after themselves, just because some people do the wrong — doesn’t mean we have to punish everyone.

The use of fireworks is banned in El Paso, Horizon, San Elizario, Clint, Vinton and Ysleta.