Rhode Island : 2017 Regular Session : RESOLUTION H6011

Died in chamber

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House Resolution Creating A Special Legislative Commission To Study The Establishment Of Procedures To Regulate And License The Intentional Manipulation Of The Global Environment Through Geoengineering (creates A 5 Member Commission To Study And Provide Recommendations On The Regulation And Licensure Of Geoenginerring, And Who Would Report Back By April 2, 2018, And Expire On June 2, 2018.)

Sponsor: Rep Justin Price

Bill Details

Bill summary

Rhode Island House Resolution 6011 Substitute A establishes a special legislative commission to study and provide recommendations for state regulation and licensure of geoengineering technologies. This resolution represents a strategic shift in approach following the withdrawal of House Bill 5607 earlier in 2017, which had sought to directly regulate climate geoengineering with severe criminal penalties. Rather than immediately imposing regulations, the resolution creates a study commission to examine the issue comprehensively before developing policy recommendations. The commission would consist of five members of the House of Representatives, with no more than three from the same political party, all to be appointed by the Speaker of the House. The commission members would receive no compensation for their services. The Speaker of the House is authorised and directed to provide suitable quarters for the commission's work, and all departments and agencies of the state are required to furnish such advice and information, documentary and otherwise, as is deemed necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate its purposes. The commission's mandate encompasses studying and providing recommendations for state regulation and licensure of all geoengineering technologies including but not limited to solar radiation management, geoengineering ground-based and atmosphere-based deployments, cloud cover protection and cloud whitening, space sunshades, sunshields, solar shields or atmospheric sunscreens such as reflective particulates, artificial ionosphere, ocean fertilisation, and aircraft geoengineering activities. This broad mandate encompasses both solar radiation management techniques and carbon dioxide removal approaches, covering the full spectrum of proposed climate intervention technologies. Upon passage of the resolution, commission members would meet at the call of the Speaker of the House to organise and select a chairperson from amongst the legislators. Vacancies in the commission would be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The commission would be required to report its findings and recommendations to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources no later than 2nd April 2018. The commission would expire on 2nd June 2018, giving it approximately fourteen months from the resolution's passage to complete its work and issue recommendations.

History

The resolution was introduced on 24th March 2017 by Representative Justin Price, just three days after his withdrawal of House Bill 5607, which had sought to directly regulate climate geoengineering with penalties of up to five million dollars and fifteen years imprisonment. The timing suggests a deliberate strategic pivot from immediate regulation to a study-first approach. The resolution was referred to the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, the same committee that had considered similar geoengineering legislation in 2014, 2015, and 2016. A hearing was scheduled for 6th April 2017. Following that hearing, the committee recommended on 7th April that the measure be held for further study, which is typically a procedural mechanism to decline advancing legislation and usually signals the end of a bill's progress. However, this resolution proved exceptional. On 30th June 2017, near the end of the legislative session, the committee reversed course and recommended passage of Substitute A, indicating that revisions had been made to the original resolution that addressed committee concerns. The nature of these revisions is reflected in the "Substitute A" designation, which signifies that an amended version of the original text was adopted. The resolution was placed on the House Calendar on 15th September 2017 with floor consideration scheduled for 19th September. On 19th September 2017, the House passed Substitute A, making this the first and only geoengineering-related measure to successfully pass either chamber of the Rhode Island General Assembly after four consecutive years of unsuccessful attempts to enact direct regulatory legislation. The passage represents a significant shift in legislative strategy, moving from attempts to immediately prohibit or heavily regulate geoengineering activities to creating a formal study process to inform future policy decisions. The resolution's successful passage where previous regulatory bills had failed suggests greater legislative comfort with studying the issue rather than regulating it without prior comprehensive assessment.

Fri 24 Mar 2017 Introduced, referred to House Environment and Natural Resources
Fri 31 Mar 2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (04/06/2017)
Fri 07 Apr 2017 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
Fri 30 Jun 2017 Scheduled for consideration (06/30/2017)
Fri 30 Jun 2017 Committee recommends passage of Sub A
Fri 15 Sep 2017 Placed on House Calendar (09/19/2017)
Tue 19 Sep 2017 House passed Sub A

Supplementary documents

No supplementary documents available

Bill text

H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
Introduced By Representative Justin Price
Date Introduced March 24 2017
Referred To House Environment and Natural Resources
RESOLVED That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created consisting of five 5 members five 5 of whom shall be members of the House of Representatives not more than three 3 from the same political party to be appointed by the Speaker of the House
The purpose of said commission shall be to study and provide recommendations for state regulation and licensure of all geoengineering technologies including but not limited to
Solar Radiation Management SRM
Geoengineering ground-based and or atmosphere-based deployments
Cloud cover protection and cloud whitening
Space sunshades sunshields solar shields or atmospheric sunscreens e.g. reflective particulates
Artificial ionosphere
Ocean fertilization
Aircraft geoengineering activities
Forthwith upon passage of this resolution the members of the commission shall meet at the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select from among the legislators a chairperson Vacancies in said commission shall be filed in like manner as the original appointment
Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment
The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services
All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information documentary and otherwise to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution
The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said commission and be it further
RESOLVED That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources no later than April 2 2018 and said commission shall expire on June 2 2018