Geoengineering Bills by Year
| Bill # | Details | Effective | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Idaho (2021 Regular Session)
|
||||
| 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 |
|||
| Note: Became Law April 16, 2021; Session Law Chapter 256 | ||||
|
Montana (2021 Regular Session)
|
||||
| SB29 | Revise weather modification and control laws | Died in process | ||
| Montana Senate Bill 29 passed the Senate in 2021 but died in the House revising weather modification laws to streamline the licensing process mandate 100000 dollar liability insurance require environmental review and facilitate increased use of cloud seeding technology. |
Last update Thu 29 Apr 2021 |
|||
| Note: Passed Senate; rejected by House floor. | ||||
|
New Hampshire (2021 Regular Session)
|
||||
| HB128 | Adding notification requirements to the weather modification statute. | Passed | ||
| This bipartisan transparency bill sailed through the legislature with near-unanimous support (18-0 in the House committee, 5-0 in the Senate committee). It was signed into law by Governor Sununu, establishing public notification requirements for state weather modification programs. Notably, the statute this bill amended (RSA 12-F) is the same statute that HB 764 (2025) proposes to repeal entirely and replace with a prohibition on geoengineering. |
Last update Wed 19 May 2021 |
|||
| Note: Bill passed, became Chapter 34, effective July 16, 2021. | ||||
|
New Mexico (2021 Regular Session)
|
||||
| SB126 | Weather Modification Program | Died in chamber | ||
| This bare-bones 2021 appropriation for weather modification presaged the more detailed 2024 cloud seeding pilot project bill—both routed funding through New Mexico State University to the Department of Agriculture, but the earlier bill provided money without any programmatic framework. |
Last update Wed 10 Feb 2021 |
|||
|
Rhode Island (2021 Regular Session)
|
||||
| H5135 | The Geoengineering Act | Held for further study | ||
| Rhode Island's 2021 geoengineering bill represents a second attempt at establishing comprehensive atmospheric manipulation regulations, reintroducing the same sweeping licensing framework and $500,000 minimum felony penalties that died in the previous session—but this time receiving actual committee consideration before being held for further study. |
Last update Thu 11 Feb 2021 |
|||
| S0572 | The Geoengineering - Hazardous Emissions Act | Held for further study | ||
| Rhode Island's 2021 Senate geoengineering bill streamlined the House approach by reducing public hearings from four to two while adding modern concerns like flame-throwing fire drones and the "Internet of Bodies" surveillance system—though it controversially raised the electromagnetic radiation enforcement threshold 1000-fold from 10 microwatts to 10 milliwatts per square meter, potentially undermining one of the bill's core enforcement mechanisms. |
Last update Wed 7 Apr 2021 |
|||