Geoengineering Bills by State
2026 Regular Session
Adjourned Session ended Apr 10, 2026
Governor: Brad Little
| Bill # | Details | Effective | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2015 Regular Session
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| S1100 | Amends existing law to provide that under specified conditions a watermaster may acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property, equipment and facilities for the proper administration of the water district and enhancement of water supplies, to provide that under specified conditions a watermaster may develop, coordinate or provide for certain weather modification projects; and to provide that if specified funds are not sufficient to cover expenses in implementing certain resolutions, such expenses shall come from assessments. | 1 Jul 2015 | Passed | |
| Idaho's first legislative step toward cloud seeding: rather than creating a statewide program, this 2015 law empowers individual water districts to authorise their watermasters to participate in weather modification projects. |
Last update Mon 23 Mar 2015 |
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| Note: Conclusion: Reported Signed by Governor on March 23, 2015; Session Law Chapter 82; Effective July 1, 2015. | ||||
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2021 Regular Session
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| H0266 | Adds to existing law to provide for cloud seeding in Idaho. | 1 Jul 2021 | Passed | |
| Idaho formalises its cloud seeding program with a sweeping liability shield and permit exemption—the state declares cloud seeding works and is in the public interest, then removes legal barriers that might otherwise allow affected parties to challenge operations in court. |
Last update Mon 19 Apr 2021 |
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| Note: Became Law April 16, 2021; Session Law Chapter 256 | ||||
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2025 Regular Session
Session Adjourn Fri 4 Apr 2025
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| S1064 | Amends and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding cloud seeding. | Sine die | ||
| Rather than banning cloud seeding, Idaho takes a "trust but verify" approach—requiring detailed public reporting on operations, environmental impacts, and effectiveness while subtly downgrading the legislature's prior endorsement from certainty ("cloud seeding has resulted in water increases") to scepticism ("may result"). |
Last update Thu 20 Mar 2025 |
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| Note: 2025 session adjourned on 4th April 2025, remained in Resources & Conservation committee | ||||
| S1065 | Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to prohibit unauthorized weather modification activities and to provide penalties, enforcement, and exceptions. | Sine die | ||
| Idaho takes a "state monopoly" approach to weather modification. Rather than banning all cloud seeding, this bill criminalises unauthorised activities while explicitly preserving the Idaho Water Resource Board's existing cloud seeding program. The SRM prohibition is absolute with no exemptions. |
Last update Fri 7 Feb 2025 |
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| Note: 2025 session adjourned on 4th April 2025, remained in Resources & Conservation committee | ||||
| S1167 | Repeals existing law to remove provisions regarding weather modification. | 1 Jul 2025 | Passed | |
| Idaho is cleaning house by repealing a dormant 1970s-era weather modification district law that was used by only one district and has sat unused for roughly 50 years. Unlike other states that have passed new geoengineering prohibitions, this is legislative housekeeping rather than a policy statement against weather modification. |
Last update Tue 1 Apr 2025 |
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| Note: As of 1 July 2025, Idaho will scrap the old rule that allowed counties to set up special “weather-modification districts.” Those districts—small local bodies that could tax residents to fund cloud-seeding or other weather-control projects—will be dissolved. | ||||
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2026 Regular Session
Session Adjourn Fri 10 Apr 2026
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| S1269 | Amends and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding cloud seeding programs. | 1 Jul 2026 | ||
| Idaho S1269 adds transparency guardrails to the state's established cloud seeding program, requiring public meetings, annual environmental impact reports, and monthly operator reporting — while notably narrowing the program's existing absolute liability shield by allowing claims based on gross negligence or willful misconduct. |
Last update Fri 20 Mar 2026 |
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| Status: Bill is now with the governor for final signature. The deadline for a veto is Wednesday, March 25 2026 | ||||
| H0669 | Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding cloud seeding activities. | Immediately | Missed crossover | |
| Idaho H0669 would shut down the state's entire cloud seeding program, which currently costs approximately $3 million annually, and make any weather modification activity a felony, carrying a five-year prison sentence and a $100,000 fine. Unlike many prohibition bills that simply ban geoengineering, this bill systematically strips cloud-seeding authority from multiple sections of Idaho water law and cites a 2024 GAO report questioning the effectiveness of cloud seeding as its factual basis. |
Last update Mon 16 Feb 2026 |
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| Note: Never assigned an initial committee | ||||
| HJM015 | States findings of the Legislature and requests federal action. | Missed crossover | ||
| Idaho's HJM015 is a congressional petition, not a law — it creates no enforceable rules within the state but instead formally asks the federal government to criminalise geoengineering over Idaho's skies and require state consent before any atmospheric modification program can operate. Notably, the memorial invokes the Tenth Amendment as a constitutional basis for state sovereignty over airspace, and explicitly calls for felony-level federal criminal penalties for violations conducted without state approval. |
Last update Wed 18 Feb 2026 |
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| Note: Missed crossover - Remained in Environment, Energy & Technology committee | ||||
| HJM018 | States findings of the Legislature and requests federal action. | Sine die | ||
| Idaho HJM018 is a joint memorial — a formal request to Congress, not a law — that asks the federal government to ban solar geoengineering over Idaho and to make it a felony. It carries no legal force on its own, but signals where the Idaho Legislature stands on the issue. |
Last update Tue 17 Mar 2026 |
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| Note: House adopted, but remained in Senate Resources & Environment Committee | ||||
| H0977 | Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding cloud seeding. | 1 Jul 2026 | Sine die | |
| Idaho H0977 does not ban cloud seeding outright but strips the Water Resource Board of its authority to run programs unilaterally, requiring explicit legislative sign-off for any future activity and imposing felony-level penalties on anyone who proceeds without it. In an unusual move, the bill writes a 2024 federal audit's finding — that cloud seeding's effectiveness is statistically indistinguishable from zero — directly into state law as a legislative finding. |
Last update Wed 1 Apr 2026 |
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| Note: Never assigned a committee | ||||
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