Iowa : 2025-2026 Regular Session : BILL HF2173
A bill for an act relating to the intentional emission of air contaminants into the atmosphere, including prohibitions and reporting requirements, and providing penalties.(See HF 2640.)
Sponsor: Rep Jeff Shipley
Bill Details
A bill for an act relating to the intentional emission of air contaminants into the atmosphere, including prohibitions and reporting requirements, and providing penalties.(See HF 2640.)
GeoLawWatch Bill Summary
Prohibition: The bill bans the emission, injection, release, or dispersion of any chemical, chemical compound, substance, or apparatus into the atmosphere for the purpose of affecting temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight. The prohibition also extends to "any other purpose not presently regulated by state or federal law"—an unusually broad catch-all provision.
Airport surveillance system: Beginning October 1, 2026, all airports open to public use must submit monthly reports to the Department of Transportation identifying:
- Any aircraft present at the airport equipped with devices capable of atmospheric dispersal for weather/climate modification purposes
- Any landing, takeoff, stopover, or refuelling of such equipped aircraft
Interagency enforcement coordination: The Department of Transportation must forward aggregated airport reports to both the Department of Natural Resources and state law enforcement agencies to support enforcement of the prohibition.
Penalties:
- Class D felony for any person or corporation violating the prohibition (up to 5 years imprisonment, fines of $1,025 to $10,245)
- An additional civil penalty of up to $100,000 for corporate officers, directors, or employees when a corporation violates the law
- Each day of violation constitutes a separate offence
Funding sanctions: Any airport project or program not in compliance with reporting requirements becomes ineligible for state funding until compliance is achieved.
Rulemaking authority: The Department of Transportation is authorised to adopt implementing rules.
Unusual provisions: The airport surveillance network is distinctive—most geoengineering prohibition bills focus on the prohibited activity itself rather than creating infrastructure to detect potential violators. The bill essentially deputises Iowa's airport system as a monitoring network. The extension of criminal liability to corporate officers, directors, and employees personally is also noteworthy, as it pierces the corporate veil for weather modification activities.
History
HF2173 was introduced on January 27, 2026 and immediately referred to the House Environmental Protection Committee. The notation "H.J. 01/27" indicates the action was recorded in the House Journal for that date.
Iowa operates on a biennial legislative cycle with the current session scheduled to adjourn April 21, 2026. The bill has no crossover deadline specified in the legislative calendar, which typically gives bills more flexibility in moving between chambers. The Environmental Protection Committee referral is a logical placement given the bill's focus on atmospheric modification, though the substantial Department of Transportation provisions might also have warranted consideration by the Transportation Committee.
- Tue 27 Jan 2026 Introduced, referred to Environmental Protection. H.J. 157.
- Thu 29 Jan 2026 Subcommittee: Wengryn, Johnson, C. and Madison. H.J. 178.
- Tue 03 Feb 2026 Subcommittee Meeting: 02/05/2026 12:30PM RM 304.
- Thu 05 Feb 2026 Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Wed 18 Feb 2026 Committee report, recommending passage. H.J. 334.
- Wed 18 Feb 2026 Committee vote: Yeas, 9. Nays, 4. Excused, 4. H.J. 334.
- Wed 18 Feb 2026 MEETING House Environmental Protection Committee
- Thu 19 Feb 2026 Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 2640.
- Mon 09 Mar 2026 Withdrawn. H.J. 614.
Consolidated Bill Text
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION. 330.25 Weather engineering devices.
For purposes of this section:
a. "Aircraft" means a powered or unpowered machine or device capable of atmospheric transportation, except a parachute or other such device used primarily as safety equipment.
b. "Department" means the department of transportation.
By the first day of each month beginning October 1, 2026, all airport commissions, local authorities, or any other entity who operates an airport open to public use shall report to the department, using a method determined by the department, all of the following:
a. The physical presence of any aircraft located on an airport open to public use, equipped with any part, component, device, or the like that may be used to support the intentional emission, injection, release, or dispersion of air contaminants into the atmosphere within the borders of this state when such emission, injection, release, or dispersion occurs for the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, climate, or the intensity of sunlight.
b. The landing, takeoff, stopover, or refueling of an aircraft equipped with a part, component, device, or the like described in paragraph "a" on the physical location of the airport open to public use.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a project or program located on or in support of an airport open to public use that is not in compliance with this section shall be ineligible to receive any state funding until such time as the entity becomes compliant with this section.
Upon receipt of reports required in subsection 1, the department shall submit aggregated reports to the department of natural resources and the applicable state law enforcement agency in support of the enforcement of section 708C.1.
The department shall incorporate reporting guidelines in all grant agreements for airports open to public use that receive state funding.
The department shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 708C.1 Weather engineering.
The emission, injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus into the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight, or any other purpose not presently regulated by state or federal law, is prohibited.
a. Any person, including any public or private corporation, who violates this section commits a class "D" felony. For a corporation in violation of this section, the officers, directors, or employees of the corporation shall also be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars.
b. Each day a violation of subsection 1 occurs constitutes a separate offense.