weather modification; license; rules

HB2125 - 572R - I Ver

CORRECTED�� Jan 09 2026

PREFILED��� Jan 06 2026

REFERENCE TITLE:
weather modification; license; rules

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2125

Introduced by

Representative
Fink

AN
ACT

amending sections 45-117, 45-1601,
45-1602 and 45-1603, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 45,
chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding sections 45-1603.01,
45-1603.02 and 45-1603.03; amending section 45-1604, Arizona
Revised Statutes; repealing section 45-1605, Arizona Revised Statutes;
amending sections 45-1606 and 45-1607, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title
45, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 45-1608;
amending title 49, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding
section 49-119; RELATING to weather modification.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 45-117, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-117.

Water resources fund; purpose; monies held in trust

A. The water resources fund is established to be
maintained in perpetuity consisting of:

1. Except as provided in section 45-113,
subsection F, monies received pursuant to sections 45-113, 45-115,
45-116, 45-183, 45-273, 45-292, 45-411.01, 45-467,
45-476.01, 45-595, 45-612, 45-703, 45-871.01, 45-874.01,
45-1021, 45-1041, 45-1205
,

and
45-1603
and 45-1605
.

2. Monies appropriated by the legislature to the
water resources fund.

3. Gifts, grants and donations to the fund from any
public or private source.

4. Interest and other income received from investing
monies in the fund.

B. Monies in the fund are subject to legislative
appropriation.� Monies remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year
remain in the fund and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190
relating to lapsing of appropriations.

C.
Except for monies collected
pursuant to section 45-1603,
monies in the fund shall be used
exclusively by the department of water resources to carry out the purposes of
this title and shall not be appropriated for any other purpose.�
Monies collected pursuant to section 45-1603 shall be distributed to
the department of water resources and the department of environmental quality
in proportion to each department's cost of reviewing a weather modification
license application.

D. The director shall administer the fund.� On
notice from the director, the state treasurer shall invest and divest the
monies in the fund as provided by section 35-313 and monies earned from
investment shall be credited to the fund.

E. Any fee, assessment or other levy that is
authorized by law or administrative rule and that is collected and deposited in
the water resources fund shall be held in trust.� The monies in the fund may be
used only for the purposes prescribed by statute and shall not be appropriated
or transferred by the legislature to fund the general operations of this state
or to otherwise meet the obligations of the general fund of this state.� This
subsection does not apply to any taxes or other levies that are imposed
pursuant to title 42 or 43.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Heading change

The chapter heading of title 45,
chapter 9, Arizona Revised Statutes, is changed from "WEATHER CONTROL AND
CLOUD MODIFICATION" to "WEATHER MODIFICATION".

Sec. 3. Section 45-1601, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1601.

License required

No

A
person
,

or

A
corporation,
other than the United States and
its administrative agencies
or
the

a
political subdivision or agency of this
state
shall
,
without having first received a license from the director of water resources,
shall not
conduct any weather
control or cloud

modification operations or attempt artificially to
produce
rainfall

augment precipitation, perform hail suppression
or disperse fog in this state.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 45-1602, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1602.

Application for weather modification license; conditions; rules

a.
Any
individual or corporation who
A person or a POLITICAL
subdivision or agency of this state

that
proposes
to operate weather
control or cloud
modification projects
or
that
attempts to artificially
induce
rainfall shall,
augment precipitation, PERFORM hail
suppression or disperse fog,
before engaging in any such operation,
make application

shall apply
to the
director for a license to engage in the particular weather
control
or cloud
modification operation contemplated.

B. On receipt of any administratively
complete APPLICATION, the director shall transmit a copy of the APPLICATION to
the Department of environmental quality.

C. The director shall issue a weather
modification license within one hundred twenty days if the director determines
that both of the following apply:

1. The PROPOSED OPERATION will not
cause flooding, damage property or harm wildlife.

2. The
proposed operation will use chemicals, compounds OR substances that have been
reviewed and approved by the department of environmental quality pursuant to
section 49-119 and the director of the department of environmental
quality has issued a statement that affirms its review of the application and
the proposed use and quantity of the chemicals, compounds or substances.

D. On
receipt of the notice from the department of environmental quality pursuant to
section 49-119, the department of the department of water resources shall
provide written notice of the proposed operation to the general public that
resides or owns property in the proposed operation area and accept public
comment on the proposed operation.

E. Within
thirty days after providing notice and the opening of public comment, the
director shall hold at least one public meeting in the likely affected area.

F. the director may condition a
weather modification license on the applicant agreeing in writing to modify the
weather modification operation consistent with the requirements of the
department of environmental QUALITY.

G. the director shall condition a
weather modification license on the applicant agreeing in writing to be
responsible for actively monitoring the weather conditions and pattern before
the operation begins and maintaining familiarity with the license suspension
CRITERIA adopted pursuant to section 45-1603.02.

H. All licensees shall maintain
insurance or evidence of financial surety for the duration of any weather
modification operation. The evidence of financial surety may be
satisfied by a contractor indemnifying the licensee.� The director shall adopt
rules to establish a formula for the necessary insurance or financial surety
that is needed to protect the public and cover any potential losses from
weather modification operations.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 45-1603, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1603.

Application fee; statement accompanying application

A. At the time of applying for the license, the
applicant shall pay to the director a fee of
one hundred dollars,
$100
and shall file an application in the form prescribed by
the director and furnish a statement showing:

1. The name
, contact information

and address of the applicant
and the contractor that the
applicant may use for the operation
.

2. The names of the operating
personnel, and if unincorporated all individuals connected with the
organization, or if a corporation the names of each of the officers and
directors thereof, together with the address of each.

3. The scientific qualifications of
all operating or supervising personnel.

4. A statement of all other contracts
completed or in process of completion at the time the application is made,
giving the names and addresses of the persons to whom the services were
furnished and the areas in which such operations have been or are being
conducted.

2. The position job titles and job
descriptions of the key persons who are responsible for the weather
modification operation.

5.

3. The

methods of operation the licensee will use and the description of the
aircraft,
equipment,
ground and meteorological services
to be
utilized
used and the operating
technique
.

6.

4.
Names of the contracting parties within the state

Details of the operation
, including:

(a) The area to be served.

(b) The months
and estimated hours
in
which operations will be conducted.

(c) The dates when evaluations will be submitted.

(
d
) The type of
weather modification proposed, including whether the operation will augment
precipitation, PERFORM hail suppression or disperse fog.

(
e
) The
estimated volume of water in acre-feet that the licensee expects to
create or induce and the estimation methodology.

(
f
) The names
and quantity of each chemical, compound and substance that the licensee will
release and that the department of ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY has approved the
quantity and chemical, compound or substance for the proposed use pursuant to
section 49-119.

5. the potential watersheds, rivers,
streams and floodplains that may be affected by the operation.

6. THe projected weather forecast or
weather pattern for the operation period and the SOURCE of the projected
forecast or pattern.

7. Evidence of FINANCIAL surety or
INSURANCE for the duration of the license time frame.

B. The director shall deposit, pursuant to sections
35-146 and 35-147, all fees received under this section in the
water resources fund established by section 45-117.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Title 45, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 45-1603.01, 45-1603.02
and 45-1603.03, to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1603.01.

Weather modification license; duration; renewal; effective date
of license; definition

A. a license issued pursuant to this
article shall remain valid for one year from the date of issuance.

B. Before expiration of the license,
a licensee may submit a renewal application on a form prescribed by the
director. The director shall take action on any administratively
complete renewal application within thirty days after receipt. Any
license renewal that is approved before the expiration date of the ORIGINAL
license or a renewed license remains in effect from the ORIGINAL date of
issuance to the end of the renewal period.

c. The director shall approve a
renewal application if all of the following CONDITIONS are met:

1. there is no material change in the
licensee's operation.

2. The licensee has complied with all
reporting and notice requirements prescribed in section 45-1604.

3. The licensee has not been
convicted of a violation of this article pursuant to section 45-1607.

4. The licensee has and maintains
sufficient financial surety or insurance pursuant to section 45-1602.

d. If there is a material change in
the LICENSEE's operation, the licensee shall SUBMIT a new application as
prescribed in section 45-1602.

E. For
the purposes of this section, "MATERIAL change":

1. includes
a change in the PROPOSED CHEMICAL compounds or SUBSTANCES that will be used in
the planned operation or a substantial increase in the per event amount of
chemicals, compounds or SUBSTANCES that will be used in the planned operation.

2. Does not include a change in the
months, number of months or ESTIMATED hours of operation if the CHANGES occur
within the same OPERATION season as the ORIGINAL license.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
45-1603.02.

Rules; license; suspension; criteria

A. to protect the public health and
safety and to mitigate any potential impacts to affected FLOODPLAINS,
WATERSHEDS and property owners, the director shall adopt rules that ESTABLISH
CRITERIA for suspending weather MODIFICATION operations. The
director shall base the CRITERIA on industry guidelines, suspension criteria in
other western states and feedback from stakeholders that is collected during
the rulemaking process.

b. A person may not conduct or
attempt weather modification when suspension CRITERIA are in effect.

c. BEfore the director prepares or
submits any notice to adopt or amend any rules adopted pursuant to this
section, the director shall issue a public notice and hold at least one public
meeting to seek feedback from members of the public and interested
stakeholders.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
45-1603.03.

Online license database

A. The director shall maintain a
searchable database of all licenses and license applications on the
department's website. The database shall include the following:

1. the name of the operation,
applicant or licensee.

2. The application or license number.

3. The operation date range.

4. the location and the likely
affected area of the project.

5. The purpose of the operation,
including whether the purpose is to augment precipitation, perform hail
suppression or disperse fog.

6. The ANTICIPATED volume of water in
acre-feet that the operation will produce.

7. A downloadable link of the
application or license and all accompanying documentation, including all
documents and approvals that are submitted or received from the department of
environmental quality pursuant to section 49-119.

B. The director shall update the
database each time the director receives or takes any action on an application
or license that is submitted or issued pursuant to this article.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Section 45-1604, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1604.

Notice of planned operation; reports required from licensees;
failure to file; revocation of license

a. Before
the start of each annual season that a licensee plans to conduct a weather
modification operation, each licensee shall issue a notice in a newspaper of
general circulation in the affected area that contains all of the following:

1. A brief description of the planned
operation area and the likely affected area.

2. a BRIEF description of the
potential months and estimated hours of operation.

3. a BRIEF statement indicating that
the department of water resources and the department of environmental quality
have approved the operation.

4. the name and contact information
of the licensee's primary point of contact.

5. the contact information of the
department of water resources.

6. the name and contact information
of the department of environmental quality.

b.
Each licensee
shall,
Within ninety days after conclusion of any weather
control
or cloud
modification project,
each licensee shall
file
with the director a final evaluation of the project. Each six months
during the operation of any project
which

that

has not been completed each licensee shall file a report evaluating the
operations for the preceding six months in the project.

c. All reports shall include the
following:

1. The total number of cloud seeding
hours.

2. The total estimated volume in acre-feet
of water produced.

3. The name and volume of all
chemicals, compounds and substances the licensee used.

D. The director of THE department of
water resources shall forward all reports to the director of the department of
environmental quality.

E. The
failure to file
such reports
any report

or
to provide the notice prescribed in this section
constitutes grounds for
immediate revocation of the license.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 8.
Repeal

����� Section 45-1605,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is repealed.

Sec. 9. Section 45-1606, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1606.

Exception

Nothing in
This article
shall
be construed to

does not
prohibit the use and
operation of equipment and supplies designed for the purpose of weather
control or cloud
modification
that are
owned
by the owner, lessee or licensee of real property
and that are

used for agricultural purposes on the property for his exclusive benefit.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 10. Section 45-1607, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1607.

Violations; classification; enforcement

a.
Any

A
person
conducting

that
conducts
weather
control or cloud
modification
operations without first having procured a license as provided by this article,

or
who knowingly makes a false statement in the
application for license,
or who knowingly fails to file any
report or evaluation required by this article, or
who
knowingly

conducts any weather control
or cloud
modification
operation
when suspension criteria are in effect, when the
person should have known suspension criteria are in effect, or
after revocation
of
his or its
the person's
license
,
or who violates any other provision of this article
, including the use of any chemical, compound or substance in an
amount greater than authorized by the person's license
, is guilty of a
class 3 misdemeanor.

B. Any resident of this state may
submit a petition to the attorney general alleging a violation of this
section. The attorney general shall investigate all petitions. The
attorney general shall file any complaints pursuant to this section in the
superior court.

c. in addition to any other
applicable penalties, the court shall award the prevailing party INJUNCTIVE
relief, reasonable attorney fees and any other relief the court finds
necessary.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 11. Title 45, chapter 9, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 45-1608, to read:

START_STATUTE
45-1608.

Immunity from liability

The department, the director and this state,
including the department of environmental quality, are not liable for any
damages, claims or causes of action that result from a license issued pursuant
to this article or section 49-119.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 12. Title 49, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 49-119, to read:

START_STATUTE
49-119.

Weather modification; rules; application review

A. The director shall adopt rules to
create a list of approved chemicals, compounds and substances and the maximum
quantity of each chemical, compound and substance that a person may use to
conduct weather modification operations or to attempt artificially to augment
precipitation, perform hail suppression or disperse fog. The
director shall base the list on industry guidelines, the maximum quantity of
each chemical, compound and substance that are authorized in other western
states and the potential effects of the chemicals, compounds and substances on
persons, wildlife and the environment.

B. Within thirty days after receiving
a weather modification license application pursuant to title 45, chapter 9, the
director shall:

1. Review the application and
determine whether the proposed chemicals, compounds and substances and the
proposed quantity of each comply with rules adopted pursuant to this section.

2. Transmit to the director of the
department of water resources a written notice that the department of
environment quality has reviewed the application and that the proposed
chemicals, compounds and substances and the proposed quantity of each complies
or fails to comply with the rules adopted pursuant to this
section. The director of the department of environmental quality
shall individually note compliance for each proposed chemical, compound and
substance and each quantity.

C. The director may condition the
determination made pursuant to subsection b, paragraph 2 of this section on the
applicant agreeing to modify the proposed chemical, compound or substance or
the quantity consistent with the guidelines of the department.

d. The director shall provide a
REPRESENTATIVE to be present at any public meeting held pursuant to section 45-1603.02.

E. Before the director files a notice
with the secretary of state to adopt rules or modify rules pursuant to this
section, the director shall issue a public notice, hold a public meeting and
seek feedback from the public and interested stakeholders.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 13.
Rulemaking

Within sixty days after the effective
date of this act, the department of water resources and the department of
environmental quality shall adopt rules to implement this act.

Sec. 14.
Legislative intent

It is the intent of the legislature
that the online license database the department of water resources maintains
pursuant to section 45-1603.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by
this act, be similar to the national oceanic and atmospheric administration
weather modification database.

Sec. 15.
Applicability

This act applies from and after the
effective date of updated rules that are adopted by the department of
environmental quality and the department of water resources pursuant to this
act.