Iowa : 2025-2026 Regular Session : BILL SF2208

GeoLawWatch Bill Summary

The bill creates a new Chapter 708C in the Iowa Code establishing criminal prohibitions on atmospheric modification activities.

Prohibited Activities: All "polluting atmospheric activity," cloud seeding, and weather engineering are prohibited unless otherwise provided by law. Using unmarked or unidentified aircraft, vehicles, or facilities for these activities is separately prohibited.

Definitions cover three main categories: cloud seeding (dispersing chemicals like silver iodide, potassium iodide, or dry ice via aircraft or ground generators); polluting atmospheric activity (deliberate discharge of irritants, contaminants, or substances including electromagnetic fields, sound waves, light pollution, microwaves, and radiation with intent to manipulate weather); and weather engineering (deliberate manipulation of the environment to change weather or climate at any scale).

Enforcement: The Department of Public Safety must immediately issue cease-and-desist orders to suspected violators. These orders carry the weight of court orders.

Penalties: Violations constitute a Class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years' imprisonment and fines of $1,025 to $10,245. Each day of continued violation is treated as a separate offence, allowing penalties to accumulate rapidly.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment rather than following standard implementation timelines.

Unusual Provisions: The definition of "polluting atmospheric activity" is exceptionally broad, encompassing electromagnetic fields, sound waves, light pollution, and microwaves when conducted with the intent to alter weather. The mandatory issuance of cease-and-desist orders on mere suspicion is also notable.

FISCAL NOTE ANALYSIS

The fiscal note, prepared by Nathan Moore of the Legislative Services Division and signed February 16, 2026, concludes that the total fiscal impact on the state cannot be determined. Because SF 2208 creates an entirely new criminal offence, there is no historical conviction data on which to base projections for prison admissions, length of stay, community supervision, or other correctional resource demands.

The note identifies the Department of Public Safety as the enforcement body and acknowledges that costs will flow through multiple state systems: DPS investigations, the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defence Fund, and the Department of Corrections. For context, the average state cost per Class D felony conviction is estimated at between $13,000 and $18,100, spread across multiple fiscal years to account for prison and parole supervision. The marginal cost breakdown for a Class D Non-Persons felony shows that 84.2% of convictions result in a state prison sentence, with an average length of stay of 12.5 months at $23.07 per day; probation is ordered in 69.4% of cases, averaging 41.4 months at $8.00 per day. The note also flags that the minority impact cannot be assessed for the same reason: no prior offence data exists.

History

SF 2208 originated as SSB 3010, a committee-introduced measure brought forward by the Senate Committee on Technology on January 13, 2026, the opening day of the session. It was simultaneously referred back to that same committee with a subcommittee of three senators -- McClintock, Alons, and Knox -- assigned to conduct the initial review. The subcommittee was scheduled to meet on January 26 in the Senate Lounge, and on that date, it recommended passage to the full committee.

The full Technology Committee approved the bill on February 4, 2026, renumbering it as SF 2208 in the process -- a routine administrative step when a committee substitute advances to the floor calendar. The bill was formally introduced and placed on the Senate calendar on February 5, with the committee report simultaneously filed. A fiscal note prepared by the Legislative Services Division was issued on February 16, 2026. Iowa's 2026 crossover deadline -- the date by which bills must pass their chamber of origin to remain eligible for consideration by the other chamber -- has not yet been publicly set, but the session is scheduled to adjourn no later than April 21, 2026, giving the bill time to advance if it clears the Senate floor.

Mon 26 Jan 2026 MEETING Technology Subcommittee
Thu 05 Feb 2026 Introduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 209.
Thu 05 Feb 2026 Committee report, approving bill. S.J. 220.
Mon 16 Feb 2026 Fiscal note.

Consolidated Bill Text

SENATE FILE 2208
BY COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY
(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3010)
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION. 708C.1 Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

"Cloud seeding" means a type of weather modification that attempts to change the amount or type of condensation or precipitation by dispersing chemicals, including but not limited to silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice, into the air by means of aircraft or ground generators.

"Department" means the department of public safety.

"Polluting atmospheric activity" means the deliberate discharge of any solid, liquid, gaseous, or thermal irritant, contaminant, or substance, including smoke, vapor, soot, fume, aerosol plume, acid, alkali, chemical, artificially produced electric field, magnetic field, electromagnetic field, electromagnetic pulse, sound wave, sound pollution, light pollution, microwave, and all artificially produced ionizing or nonionizing radiation or waste conducted in the atmosphere that may have harmful consequences upon health, the environment, or agriculture with the intent to manipulate or alter the weather.

"Weather engineering" means the deliberate manipulation or alteration of the
environment for the purpose of changing the weather or climate by artificial means, typically involving the deliberate release of polluting emissions in the atmosphere via cloud seeding, for small-scale, large-scale, and global-scale alteration of the environment.

Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 708C.2 Prohibited acts.
A person shall not engage in polluting atmospheric activity, cloud seeding, or any other type of weather engineering, or use an unmarked or unidentified aircraft or other vehicle or facility to engage in polluting atmospheric activity, cloud seeding, or any other type of weather engineering, unless otherwise provided by law.

Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 708C.3 Penalties and enforcement.

The department shall immediately issue a cease and desist order to a person suspected of violating section 708C.2. A cease and desist order issued under this section shall have the weight of a court order and any violation shall be punished in accordance with subsection 2.

A person who violates section 708C.2 commits a class "D" felony. A separate offense is committed by the person for each day during which the violation has been conducted, repeated, or continued.

Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.

Supplementary documents

Fiscal Note Fiscal Services Division

SF 2208 - Weather Engineering, Prohibition (LSB5362SV)

Staff Contact: Nathan Moore (515.725.0155) [email protected]

Fiscal Note Version: New

DESCRIPTION

Senate File 2208 prohibits geoengineering activities including polluting atmospheric activity, cloud seeding, or any other form of weather engineering with the intent to manipulate or alter the weather. A violation of these prohibited activities results in a Class D felony.

The Bill directs the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to issue an immediate cease-and-desist order to any person suspected of violating the prohibition. A cease-and-desist order issued by the DPS has the weight of a court order. Each day a violation occurs, continues, or is repeated constitutes a separate offense.

The Bill takes effect upon enactment.

BACKGROUND

A Class D felony is punishable by confinement for up to five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245.

ASSUMPTIONS

The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
County jail data is unavailable. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
Conviction data reflects the total number of convictions in adult court, which may include multiple convictions per individual. Not all convictions lead to incarceration, and there may be a delay between conviction and prison admission, which can contribute to differences in totals.
A six-month delay is assumed from the effective date of the Bill to the date the first offender will enter the correctional system.
Offender-based convictions are a count of individuals convicted of the same offense. Each offender is counted only once per Iowa Code section, regardless of the number of individual convictions.
Admissions are a count of individuals newly admitted to the Department of Corrections (DOC) for supervision during a selected time period, based on the most serious offense committed.

CORRECTIONAL IMPACT

Senate File 2208 creates a new offense, therefore the impact on prison admissions, LOS, community-based supervision, or other correctional resources cannot be determined.

Figure 1 -- Sentencing Estimates and Length of Stay (LOS) in Months

Offense Class: D Felony Non-Persons

State Prison Percent ordered to state prison: 84.20% Avg LOS in months (all releases): 12.5 Marginal cost per day: $23.07

Parole Percent ordered to parole: 69.40% Field avg LOS on parole (months): 41.4 Marginal cost per day (parole): $8.00

Probation Avg LOS on probation (months): (see parole column) Marginal cost per day (probation): $8.00

Community-Based Corrections (CBC) Marginal cost per day: $16.35

County Jail Field avg LOS (months): 15.5 Marginal cost per day: $50.00

Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for additional information.

MINORITY IMPACT

Senate File 2208 creates a new offense, and as a result, existing data cannot be used to estimate whether enforcement or sentencing under the Bill would disproportionately affect minority populations. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for additional information.

FISCAL IMPACT

Senate File 2208 creates new criminal offenses and places enforcement responsibilities on the DPS. Any potential fiscal impact would depend on the number of investigations, cease-and-desist orders issued, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences resulting from enactment. Due to the creation of a new offense, the fiscal impact on the State, including enforcement, judicial, and correctional costs, cannot be determined.

Figure 2 -- Average State Cost Per Offense

Offense Class Average Cost Class D Felony $13,000 to $18,100

The estimated impact to the General Fund includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the DOC. The cost would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.

SOURCES

Department of Corrections Division of Data, Planning, and Improvement (DPI), Department of Management (DOM) Department of Public Safety

The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in developing this fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services Agency upon request.