2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 60 - Business Licenses
Article 2C - Fireworks Licensing and Safety
Section 60-2C-2 - Definitions.

As used in the Fireworks Licensing and Safety Act:

A. "aerial shell" means a cylindrical or spherical cartridge containing a lift charge, burst charge and effect composition. Upon firing from a reloadable tube, the lift charge is consumed and the cartridge is expelled into the air;

B. "aerial shell kit-reloadable tube" means a package or kit containing a cardboard, high-density polyethylene or equivalent launching tube and not more than twelve small aerial shells. Each aerial shell is limited to a maximum of sixty grams of total chemical composition, including lift charges, and the maximum diameter of each shell shall not exceed one and three-fourths inches;

C. "bosque" means a cottonwood corridor adjacent to a river;

D. "chaser" means a paper or cardboard tube venting out the fuse end of the tube that contains no more than twenty grams of chemical composition and travels along the ground, often producing a whistling effect or other noise; an explosive composition not to exceed fifty milligrams may be included to produce a report;

E. "chemical composition" includes all pyrotechnic and explosive composition contained in a fireworks device, but does not include inert materials such as clay used for plugs or organic matter such as rice hulls used for density control;

F. "cone fountain" means a cardboard or heavy paper cone containing no more than fifty grams of pyrotechnic composition that has the same effect as a cylindrical fountain. When more than one cone is mounted on a common base, total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed two hundred grams;

G. "crackling device" means a sphere or paper tube that contains no more than twenty grams of pyrotechnic composition that produces a flash of light and a mild, audible crackling effect upon ignition, which effect is not considered to be an explosion. Crackling devices are not subject to the fifty-milligram limit of firecrackers;

H. "cylindrical fountain" means a cylindrical tube containing not more than seventy-five grams of pyrotechnic composition that produces a shower of colored sparks and sometimes a whistling effect or smoke. The device may be provided with a spike for insertion into the ground or a wood or plastic base for placing on the ground or a wood or cardboard handle to be hand held. When more than one tube is mounted on a common base, total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed two hundred grams;

I. "display distributor" means a person, firm or corporation selling display fireworks;

J. "display fireworks" means devices primarily intended for commercial displays that are designed to produce visible or audible effects by combustion, deflagration or detonation, including salutes containing more than one hundred thirty milligrams of explosive composition; aerial shells containing more than forty grams of chemical composition exclusive of lift charge; and other exhibition display items that exceed the limits for permissible fireworks;

K. "distributor" means a person, firm or corporation selling fireworks to wholesalers and retailers for resale;

L. "explosive composition" means a chemical compound or mixture, the primary purpose of which is to function by explosion, producing an audible effect in a fireworks device;

M. "firecracker" means a small, paper-wrapped or cardboard tube containing no more than fifty milligrams of explosive composition that produces noise and a flash of light; provided that firecrackers used in aerial devices may contain up to one hundred thirty milligrams of explosive composition per report;

N. "fireworks" means devices intended to produce a visible or audible effect by combustion, deflagration or detonation and are categorized as "permissible fireworks" or "display fireworks", but does not include novelties or theatrical pyrotechnics articles;

O. "flitter sparkler" means a narrow paper tube attached to a stick or wire and filled with no more than five grams of pyrotechnic composition that produces color and sparks upon ignition and the paper at one end of the tube is ignited to make the device function;

P. "ground spinner" means a small, rapidly spinning device containing no more than twenty grams of pyrotechnic composition venting out an orifice usually on the side of the tube that when ignited produces a shower of sparks and color. "Ground spinner" is similar in operation to a wheel, but is intended to be placed flat on the ground and ignited;

Q. "helicopter" or "aerial spinner" means a tube containing no more than twenty grams of chemical composition with a propeller or blade attached that spins rapidly as it rises into the air with a visible or audible effect sometimes produced at or near the height of flight;

R. "illuminating torch" means a cylindrical tube containing no more than one hundred grams of pyrotechnic composition that produces a colored flame upon ignition and may be spiked, based or hand held. When more than one tube is mounted on a common base, total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed two hundred grams;

S. "manufacturer" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the manufacture of fireworks;

T. "mine" or "shell" means a heavy cardboard or paper tube usually attached to a wooden or plastic base and containing no more than sixty grams of total chemical composition, including lift charges, per tube that individually expels pellets of pressed pyrotechnic composition that burn with bright color in a star effect, or other devices propelled into the air, and that contains components producing reports containing a maximum one hundred thirty milligrams of explosive composition per report. A mine may contain more than one tube, but the tubes must fire in sequence upon ignition of one external fuse, must be a dense-packed collection of mine or shell tubes and the total chemical composition, including lift charges, shall not exceed two hundred grams;

U. "missile-type rocket" means a device similar to a stick-type rocket in size, composition and effect that uses fins rather than a stick for guidance and stability and that contains no more than twenty grams of chemical composition;

V. "multiple tube devices" means a device that contains more than one cardboard tube and the ignition of one external fuse that causes all of the tubes to function in sequence. The tubes are individually attached to a wood or plastic base or are dense-packed and are held together by glue, wire, string or other means that securely hold the tubes together during operation. A maximum total weight of five hundred grams of pyrotechnic composition shall be permitted; provided that the tubes are securely attached to a wood or plastic base and are separated from each other on the base by a distance of at least one-half inch. The connecting fuses on multiple tube devices shall be fused in sequence so that the tubes fire sequentially rather than all at once;

W. "novelties" means devices containing small amounts of pyrotechnic or explosive composition that produce limited visible or audible effects, including party poppers, snappers, toy smoke devices, snakes, glowworms, sparklers or toy caps, and devices intended to produce unique visual or audible effects that contain sixteen milligrams or less of explosive composition and limited amounts of other pyrotechnic composition, including cigarette loads, trick matches, explosive auto alarms and other trick noisemakers;

X. "permissible fireworks" or "consumer fireworks" means fireworks legal for sale to and use in New Mexico by the general public that comply with the latest construction, performance, composition and labeling requirements established by the United States consumer product safety commission and the United States department of transportation;

Y. "pyrotechnic composition" means a chemical mixture that on burning and without explosion produces visible or brilliant displays or bright lights or whistles or motion;

Z. "retailer" means a person, firm or corporation purchasing fireworks for resale to consumers;

AA. "roman candle" means a heavy paper or cardboard tube containing no more than twenty grams of chemical composition that individually expels pellets of pressed pyrotechnic composition that burn with bright color in a star effect;

BB. "specialty retailer" means a person, firm or corporation purchasing permissible fireworks for year-round resale in permanent retail stores whose primary business is tourism;

CC. "stick-type rocket" means a cylindrical tube containing no more than twenty grams of chemical composition with a wooden stick attached for guidance and stability that rises into the air upon ignition and produces a burst of color or sound at or near the height of flight;

DD. "theatrical pyrotechnics articles" means a pyrotechnic device for professional use in the entertainment industry similar to permissible fireworks or consumer fireworks in chemical composition and construction but not intended and labeled for consumer use;

EE. "toy smoke device" means a small plastic or paper item containing no more than one hundred grams of pyrotechnic composition that produces white or colored smoke as the primary effect;

FF. "wheel" means a pyrotechnic device that is made to attach to a post or other surface and that revolves, producing a shower of color and sparks and sometimes a whistling effect, and that may have one or more drivers, each of which contains no more than sixty grams of pyrotechnic composition and the total wheel contains no more than two hundred grams total pyrotechnic composition;

GG. "wholesaler" means a person, firm or corporation purchasing fireworks for resale to retailers; and

HH. "wildlands" means lands owned by the governing body of a county or municipality that are designated for public recreational purposes and that are covered wholly or in part by timber, brush or native grass.

History: Laws 1989, ch. 346, § 2; 1991, ch. 133, § 1; 1997, ch. 17, § 2; 1999, ch. 58, § 1; 2007, ch. 268, § 1.

The 2007 amendment, effective April 2, 2007, added Subsections A through C, V through X and DD; excluded novelties and theatrical pyrotechnics articles from the definition of "fireworks"; increased the chemical composition of a mine or shell to sixty grams; required "permissible fireworks" or "consumer fireworks" to comply with the requirements of the United States consumer product safety commission and the United States department of transportation; and defined "wildlands" to be lands owned by a county or municipality for public recreational purposes.

The 1999 amendment, effective March 17, 1999, added Subsection BB and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1997 amendment, effective March 18, 1997, rewrote this section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.