SAN JOSE (KRON) — Illegal fireworks are a growing problem across the Bay Area, and in San Jose, city leaders are considering a tough new ordinance to help them crack down.
In June and July of 2014, police in San Jose got more than 2,000 complaints about illegal fireworks.
Now, Mayor Sam Liccardo is pushing for an ordinance that would permit park rangers and community service officers to issue citations.
San Jose’s fire department says that the ordinance will also be a deterrent in terms of wildfire risk.
Not only would the new law hold parents or guardians liable for underage violators, Liccardo says it would “put more eyes on the street.”
Currently, the maximum fine for an illegal fireworks citation is a thousand dollars.
If approved, the new law would link those fines to the explosive capacity of the fireworks; the bigger the fireworks, the bigger the fine.