GeoLawWatch Open Legislation 11

Open Legislation

11 bills still alive in a 2026 session, in 5 legislatures. Each state shows where its legislature is in the calendar.

Michigan

2025-2026 Regular Session

Next: Adjourns 31 Dec 2026

In session · adjourns 31 Dec 2026 55 days left
14 Jan 2026 31 Dec 2026
HB4304 Introduced

Environmental protection: air pollution; dispersion of substances or objects into atmosphere; prohibit for purposes of affecting weather. Amends 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.101 - 324.90106) by adding sec. 5514b.

Michigan opts for statutory simplicity by adding a single-sentence prohibition to existing environmental law with no specified penalties, enforcement mechanisms, or implementation framework.

In committee: House Regulatory Reform

Latest: Unmoved for over a year - unlikely to ever see progress before the session closes at the end of the year.

Last action Effective: March/April 2027

New Jersey

2026-2027 Regular Session

Next: Adjourns 17 Dec 2026

In session · adjourns 17 Dec 2026 41 days left
13 Jan 2026 17 Dec 2026
S934 Introduced

Prohibits release of certain substances into atmosphere for purposes of geoengineering.

New Jersey's bill takes a distinctive approach by limiting its prohibition to "hazardous" substances used for geoengineering rather than banning all atmospheric releases, while creating a citizen science-style monitoring program that accepts everything from smartphone photos to spectrometry reports as evidence of potential violations.

In committee: Senate Environment and Energy

Latest: No movement since the beginning of the year - unlikely to see progress.

Last action Effective: Within 18 months
A5246 Introduced

Prohibits release of certain substances into atmosphere for purposes of geoengineering.

New Jersey's bill takes a distinctive approach by limiting its prohibition to "hazardous" substances used for geoengineering rather than banning all atmospheric releases, while also creating a citizen-science-style monitoring program that accepts everything from smartphone photos to spectrometry reports as evidence of potential violations. Introduced as an identical companion bill to S934

In committee: Assembly Environment and Solid Waste

Latest: Companion bill to S934, but no committee movement since its introduction in June - Unlikely to progress further,

Last action Effective: Immediately

Ohio

2025-2026 Regular Session

Next: Adjourns 17 Dec 2026

In session · adjourns 17 Dec 2026 41 days left
5 Jan 2026 17 Dec 2026
HB272 Introduced

Regards food dyes, PFAS, fluoride, and certain substance releases

Ohio's HB 272 buries a straightforward prohibition on weather modification within an omnibus consumer protection bill covering PFAS chemicals, food dyes, and water fluoridation. The atmospheric release provision is notably modest compared to Ohio's other pending weather modification bill (HB 290), imposing misdemeanour penalties rather than felony charges, suggesting different legislative philosophies on enforcement severity even within the same chamber.

In committee: House General Government

Latest: This bill stalled in 2025 because it covered too many topics. Unlikely to resurface in 2026

Last action Effective: 90 days after passage
HB290 Introduced

Enact the Atmosphere Protection Act

Ohio's "Atmosphere Protection Act" imposes some of the harshest penalties in state weather modification legislation—a mandatory 3-year prison term and a minimum $500,000 fine under strict liability, meaning prosecutors need not prove intent. The Legislative Service Commission's own analysis notes uncertainty about what the undefined term "sunlight reflection methods" actually prohibits.

In committee: House Natural Resources

Latest: Ignored by committee in 2025, unlikely to resurface in 2026

Last action Effective: 90 days after passage

Pennsylvania

2025-2026 Regular Session

Next: Adjourns 30 Nov 2026

In session · adjourns 30 Nov 2026 24 days left
6 Jan 2026 30 Nov 2026
SB508 Introduced

Prohibiting solar radiation modification or sunlight reflection methods, cloud seeding and polluting atmospheric interventions within this Commonwealth; imposing duties on the Pennsylvania State Police and sheriffs; and imposing penalties.

Pennsylvania's Clean Air Preservation Act creates a sweeping felony prohibition on atmospheric interventions, including solar geoengineering experiments like stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening, with the unique feature of listing artificial intelligence as a criminal entity subject to minimum penalties of $500,000 and two years imprisonment per day of violation, enforceable by sheriffs and State Police against any entit,y including federal agencies.

In committee: Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs

Latest: No committee movement in 2025, unlikely to resurface in 2026

Last action Effective: Immediately
HB1167 Introduced

Prohibiting solar radiation modification or sunlight reflection methods, cloud seeding and polluting atmospheric interventions within this Commonwealth; imposing duties on the Pennsylvania State Police and sheriffs; and imposing penalties.

Pennsylvania's Clean Air Preservation Act creates a sweeping felony prohibition on atmospheric interventions, including solar geoengineering experiments like stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening, with the unique feature of listing artificial intelligence as a criminal entity subject to minimum penalties of $500,000 and two years imprisonment per day of violation, enforceable by sheriffs and State Police against any entity including federal agencies.

In committee: House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection

Latest: No committee movement in 2025, unlikely to resurface in 2026

Last action Effective: Immediately

US Congress

2025-2026 Regular Session

Next: Adjourns 3 Jan 2027

In session · adjourns 3 Jan 2027 58 days left
5 Jan 2026 3 Jan 2027
HB4403 Introduced

Clear Skies Act

The federal "Clear Skies Act" (H.R. 4403) bans all weather modification activities nationwide with criminal penalties up to 5 years imprisonment and $100,000 fines per violation, while repealing all existing federal authorities that permit such activities and establishing a public EPA reporting system for suspected violations.

In committee: House Energy And Commerce

Latest: No movement after Marjorie Greene's meeting in September 2025

Last action Effective: Immediately
HB6941 Introduced

Atmosphere Study Act

A federal study-only bill requiring the Department of Energy to investigate health and environmental effects of federally-connected geoengineering projects, with no regulatory teeth or prohibition provisions—essentially a fact-finding exercise that commits Congress to nothing beyond receiving a report.

In committee: House Energy And Commerce

Latest: No movement since January 2026

Last action Effective: Immediately
HB7452 Introduced

Air Quality Act

This federal bill goes beyond simple prohibition by creating dual reporting systems—one requiring airlines to disclose weather modification equipment on aircraft, another for public violation reports—while simultaneously repealing all existing federal weather modification authorities and banning even federally-funded research on atmospheric intervention.

In committee: House Energy And Commerce

Latest: No movement since Feb 2026

Last action Effective: Immediately
SB3923 Introduced

Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026

The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 modernises NOAA's meteorological research, severe storm forecasting, AI weather modelling, and commercial satellite data integration. It focuses strictly on observational technology and public warning systems and includes no provisions for atmospheric intervention or weather modification.

Latest: Now eligible for floor consideration, but its window for enactment before the end of the 119th Congress is narrow.