2005 California Health and Safety Code Sections 12500-12534 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

12500.  This part shall be known and may be cited as the State
Fireworks Law.
12501.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in
this chapter govern the construction of this part.
12502.  "Advertise" means an announcement publicly with any sign,
card, or notice, or by any other means, on which appears a person's
name or business name style offering to sell or transfer fireworks or
pyrotechnic devices, or to cause a person's name or business name
style to be included in any classified advertisement or directory for
the purpose of the sale or transfer of fireworks or pyrotechnic
devices.
12503.  "Agricultural and wildlife fireworks" means fireworks
designed and intended by the manufacturer to be used to prevent
damage to crops or unwanted occupancy of areas by animals or birds
through the employment of sound or light, or both.
12504.  "Flammable liquid"  means any liquid whose flashpoint is 100
degrees Fahrenheit, or less, when tested pursuant to Standard D56-70
of the American Society for Testing and Materials.
12505.  "Dangerous fireworks" includes all of the following:
   (a) Any fireworks which contain any of the following:
   (1) Arsenic sulfide, arsenates, or arsenites.
   (2) Boron.
   (3) Chlorates, except:
   (A) In colored smoke mixture in which an equal or greater amount
of sodium bicarbonate is included.
   (B) In caps and party poppers.
   (C) In those small items (such as ground spinners) wherein the
total powder content does not exceed 4 grams of which not greater
than 15 percent (or 600 milligrams) is potassium, sodium, or barium
chlorate.
   (4) Gallates or Gallic acid.
   (5) Magnesium (magnesium-aluminum alloys, called magnalium, are
permitted).
   (6) Mercury salts.
   (7) Phosphorous (red or white except that red phosphorus is
permissible in caps and party poppers).
   (8) Picrates or picric acid.
   (9) Thiocyanates.
   (10) Titanium, except in particle size greater than 100-mesh.
   (11) Zirconium.
   (b) Firecrackers.
   (c) Skyrockets and rockets, including all devices which employ any
combustible or explosive material and which rise in the air during
discharge.
   (d) Roman candles, including all devices which discharge balls of
fire into the air.
   (e) Chasers, including all devices which dart or travel about the
surface of the ground during discharge.
   (f) Sparklers more than 10 inches in length or one-fourth of one
inch in diameter.
   (g) All fireworks designed and intended by the manufacturer to
create the element of surprise upon the user.  These items include,
but are not limited to, auto-foolers, cigarette loads, exploding golf
balls, and trick matches.
   (h) Fireworks known as devil-on-the-walk, or any other firework
which explodes through means of friction, unless otherwise classified
by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to this part.
   (i) Torpedoes of all kinds which explode on impact.
   (j) Fireworks kits.
   (k) Such other fireworks examined and tested by the State Fire
Marshal and determined by him, with the advice of the State Board of
Fire Services, to possess characteristics of design or construction
which make such fireworks unsafe for use by any person not specially
qualified or trained in the use of fireworks.
12506.  "Emergency signaling device" means a pyrotechnic device
designed and intended by the manufacturer to be used as such and
which provides a reasonable degree of safety to the user and does not
create a fire hazard when used according to the label of
instructions.
12507.  "End fuse" means a fuse inserted into any fireworks or
pyrotechnic device at the end as distinguished from the side of such
item.
12508.  "Exempt fireworks" means any special item containing
pyrotechnic compositions which the State Fire Marshal, with the
advice of the State Fire Advisory Board, has investigated and
determined to be limited to industrial, commercial, agricultural use,
or religious ceremonies when authorized by a permit granted by the
authority having jurisdiction.
12509.  "Exporter" means any person who sells, consigns, or delivers
fireworks located within this state for delivery, use, or sale out
of this state.
12510.  "Fire nuisance" means anything or any act which increases,
or may cause an increase of, the hazard or menace of fire, or which
may obstruct, delay, or hinder, or may become the cause of any
obstruction, delay, or hindrance, to the prevention or extinguishment
of fire.
12511.  "Fireworks" means any device containing chemical elements
and chemical compounds capable of burning independently of the oxygen
of the atmosphere and producing audible, visual, mechanical, or
thermal effects which are useful as pyrotechnic devices or for
entertainment.
   The term "fireworks" includes, but is not limited to, devices
designated by the manufacturer as fireworks, torpedoes, skyrockets,
roman candles, rockets, Daygo bombs, sparklers, party poppers, paper
caps, chasers, fountains, smoke sparks, aerial bombs, and fireworks
kits.
12512.  "Fireworks kit" means any assembly of materials or explosive
substances, which is designed and intended by the seller to be
assembled by the person receiving such material or explosive
substance and when so assembled would come within the definition of
fireworks in Section 12511.
12513.  "Importer" means any person who for any purpose does any of
the following:
   (a) Brings fireworks into this state or causes fireworks to be
brought into this state.
   (b) Procures the delivery or receives shipments of any fireworks
into this state.
   (c) Buys or contracts to buy fireworks for shipment into this
state.
12514.  "Issuing authority" means any person who has the
responsibility of evaluating the application for, and issuing, the
permits required by Section 12640.
12515.  "Label of registration" means the label of registration of
the State Fire Marshal.
12516.  "License" means any nontransferable authorization granted by
the State Fire Marshal to engage in any activity regulated by this
part.
12517.  "Licensee" means any person 21 years of age or older holding
a fireworks license issued pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 12570).
12518.  "Manufacturer" means any person who manufactures, makes,
constructs, fabricates, or produces any fireworks or pyrotechnic
devices, but does not include any person who assembles or fabricates
any sets or mechanical pieces for public displays of fireworks, or
persons operating within the scope of public display or pyrotechnic
operator licenses.
12519.  "Model rocket" means any toy or educational device which
weighs not more than 500 grams, including the engine and any payload,
that is propelled by model rocket engines.
12520.  "Model rocket engine" means a commercially manufactured,
nonreusable rocket propulsion device which is constructed of a
nonmetallic casing and solid propellant, wherein all of the
ingredients are self-contained so as not to require mixing or
handling by the user and which have design and construction
characteristics determined by the State Fire Marshal to provide a
reasonable degree of safety to the user.
12521.  "Package" includes any case, container, or receptacle, used
for holding fireworks, which is closed or sealed by tape, cordage, or
by any other means.
12522.  "Permit" means the nontransferable permission granted by the
public agency having local jurisdiction to a licensee for the
purposes of establishing and maintaining a place where fireworks are
manufactured, constructed, produced, packaged, stored, sold,
exchanged, discharged, or used, or the nontransferable permission
granted by the public agency having local jurisdiction or by the
State Fire Marshal to a licensee for the purpose of transporting
fireworks.
12523.  "Person" means any person, copartnership, organization,
firm, corporation, association, or any combination thereof, or any
city, county, city and county, and state, and shall include any of
their employees and authorized representatives.
12524.  "Public display of fireworks" means an entertainment feature
where the public or a private group is admitted or permitted to view
the display or discharge of dangerous fireworks.
12525.  "Pyrotechnic compositions" means any combination of chemical
elements or chemical compounds capable of burning independently of
the oxygen of the atmosphere.
12526.  "Pyrotechnic device" means any combination of materials,
including pyrotechnic compositions, which, by the agency of fire,
produce an audible, visual, mechanical or thermal effect designed and
intended to be useful for industrial, agricultural, personal safety,
or educational purposes.
   The term "pyrotechnic device" includes, but is not limited to,
agricultural and wildlife fireworks, model rockets, exempt fireworks,
emergency signaling devices, and special effects.
12527.  "Pyrotechnic operator" means any licensed pyrotechnic
operator, who by examination, experience, and training, has
demonstrated the required skill and ability in the use and discharge
of fireworks as authorized by the license granted.
12528.  "Retailer" means any person who, at a fixed place of
business, sells, transfers, or gives fireworks to a consumer or user.
12529.  "Safe and sane fireworks" means any fireworks which do not
come within the definition of "dangerous fireworks" or "exempt
fireworks."
12530.  "Salesman" means any person who, as an employee of a
manufacturer or wholesaler, solicits, accepts, or receives an order
for fireworks for a licensee or permittee.
12531.  "Sell" means any arrangement between two or more persons as
a result of which there is a transfer of property for a
consideration.
12532.  "Special effects" means articles containing any pyrotechnic
composition manufactured and assembled, designed, or discharged in
connection with television, theater, or motion picture productions,
which may or may not be presented before live audiences and any other
articles containing any pyrotechnic composition used for commercial,
industrial, education, recreation, or entertainment purposes when
authorized by the authority having jurisdiction.
12533.  "Wholesaler" means any person, other than an importer,
exporter, or manufacturer selling only to wholesalers, who sells
fireworks to a retailer or any other person for resale.  It also
includes any person who sells dangerous fireworks to public display
permittees.
12534.  "Within this state" means within all territory within the
boundaries of this state.