GeoLawWatch Still in play 10

South Dakota

1 bill passed

2026 Regular Session

3 bills · Adjourned 15 Apr 2026
HB1181 Withdrawn

Prohibit weather and climate modification activities and provide a penalty therefor.

South Dakota's HB 1181 takes a notably comprehensive approach by creating a dedicated enforcement fund, requiring quarterly aircraft inspections at all airports, and extending jurisdiction to businesses merely headquartered in the state, even when operations occur elsewhere. The $100,000 minimum fine plus $10,000 daily penalties represents one of the steeper civil penalty structures among similar state proposals.

Last action Effective: 1 Jul 2026
HB1271 Moved to 41st

Prohibit weather and climate modification activities and provide a penalty therefor.

South Dakota's HB 1271 creates a comprehensive prohibition on atmospheric modification, with substantial civil penalties ($100,000 minimum plus $10,000/day), funded through a self-sustaining enforcement mechanism in which collected fines pay for monitoring activities. The bill is notable for requiring all airports to file quarterly reports on aircraft equipped with dispersal equipment and for attempting to reach businesses operating from outside state borders through the Secretary of State disclosure requirements.

Deferred to 41st day by House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee

Last action Effective: 1 Jul 2026
HB1294 Moved to 41st

Prohibit geoengineering in this state.

South Dakota's HB 1294 is a bare-bones geoengineering prohibition—just six lines of text making it a felony, with no enforcement infrastructure, no funding, and a narrow definition that specifically targets climate change countermeasures rather than weather modification generally.

House Agriculture and Natural Resources moved to 41st day

Last action

2024 Regular Session

1 bill · Adjourned sine die
SB215 Died in chamber

Prohibit the intentional release of polluting emissions into the atmosphere by cloud seeding, weather modification, excessive electromagnetic radio frequency and microwave radiation and providing enforcement and penalties for violations.

South Dakota's 2024 geoengineering bill would have deputised county sheriffs as atmospheric enforcement agents with authority to ground aircraft, invoke the National Guard, and issue cease-and-desist orders against federal operations—while establishing two-hour emergency response requirements for citizen reports of excessive electromagnetic radiation.

Last action

2014 Regular Session

1 bill · Adjourned sine die