GeoLawWatch: Tracking Weather & Climate Legislation

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-eighth Legislature
Second Regular Session - 2026

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 18

BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.

We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:

WHEREAS, it is documented that federal agencies, military contractors, nongovernmental organizations, and private entities acting on behalf of or at the request of the federal government are engaging in solar geoengineering experiments, including but not limited to solar radiation modification and stratospheric aerosol injection, all without public knowledge or consent; and

WHEREAS, the intent of this Memorial is to address only solar geoengineering activities, not weather modification generally; and

WHEREAS, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, "the main difference between weather modification and solar geoengineering is that weather modification is intended to have local, short-term effects, whereas solar geoengineering is intended to have larger regional or global effects that persist" and "weather modification is the intentional modification of regional or local weather patterns. The most common example is cloud seeding, which involves introducing artificial particles into clouds with the objective of increasing rain or snow or modifying regional or local weather patterns."; and

WHEREAS, solar geoengineering activities involve substances with unknown or unreported impacts on human health, livestock, crops, ecosystems, and weather stability being emitted into the atmosphere without public knowledge or consent; and

WHEREAS, solar geoengineering activities are currently allowed without oversight in Idaho's airspace; and

WHEREAS, under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is the constitutional duty of state government to safeguard public health, defend private property, protect agricultural integrity, and assert state sovereignty over activities conducted within its borders and above its skies; and

WHEREAS, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is charged with protecting the safety and quality of the state's air, water, and soil and must be empowered to investigate and stop unauthorized atmospheric contamination within Idaho's jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS, multiple states, including Tennessee and Florida, have now enacted legislation prohibiting solar geoengineering modifications, and dozens more are considering similar laws to preserve natural climate systems and ensure transparency in all atmospheric activity.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that the Idaho Legislature supports and urges the United States Congress passing legislation to: prohibit the intentional injection, dispersion, or release of chemical, biological, or radiological substances into the atmosphere for the purpose of solar geoengineering without the express approval of the State of Idaho; ban the use of unmarked aircraft, drones, balloons, or space-based platforms to conduct solar geoengineering modifications over the State of Idaho; make such unauthorized acts a felony offense, with substantial fines and criminal penalties per violation; encourage partnerships between the relevant federal law enforcement agencies, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and relevant state law enforcement entities to enforce such felonies; and formally reject any federal, international, or foreign-sponsored solar geoengineering programs conducted over Idaho airspace without full disclosure, state consent, and public transparency.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Idaho Legislature urges all elected officials, agencies, and candidates to support legislation that preserves Idaho's natural skies, defends individual and agricultural health, and asserts constitutional control over state airspace.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.