Back to Iowa

SF142 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

A bill for an act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
McCLINTOCK
Last action
2025-02-03
Official status
Subcommittee: Schultz, Blake, and Bousselot. S.J. 178 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

A bill for an act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-03 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Schultz, Blake, and Bousselot. S.J. 178 .

  2. 2025-01-28 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 147 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the prohibition of geoengineering activities, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

142

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

142

BY

McCLINTOCK

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

prohibition

of

geoengineering

1

activities,

providing

penalties,

and

including

effective

2

date

provisions.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

TLSB

1118XS

(3)

91

sb/js

S.F.

142

Section

1.

NEW

SECTION

.

708C.1

Definitions.

1

As

used

in

this

chapter:

2

1.

“Cloud

seeding”

means

a

type

of

weather

modification

3

that

attempts

to

change

the

amount

or

type

of

condensation

4

or

precipitation

by

dispersing

chemicals,

including

but

not

5

limited

to

silver

iodide,

potassium

iodide,

and

dry

ice,

into

6

the

air

by

means

of

aircraft

or

ground

generators.

7

2.

“Department”

means

the

department

of

public

safety.

8

3.

“Polluting

atmospheric

activity”

means

the

deliberate

9

discharge

of

any

solid,

liquid,

gaseous,

or

thermal

irritant,

10

contaminant,

or

substance,

including

smoke,

vapor,

soot,

11

fume,

aerosol

plume,

acid,

alkali,

chemical,

artificially

12

produced

electric

field,

magnetic

field,

electromagnetic

field,

13

electromagnetic

pulse,

sound

wave,

sound

pollution,

light

14

pollution,

microwave,

and

all

artificially

produced

ionizing

or

15

nonionizing

radiation

or

waste

conducted

in

the

atmosphere

that

16

may

have

harmful

consequences

upon

health,

the

environment,

or

17

agriculture.

18

4.

“Weather

engineering”

means

the

deliberate

manipulation

19

or

alteration

of

the

environment

for

the

purpose

of

changing

20

the

weather

or

climate

by

artificial

means,

typically

21

involving

the

deliberate

release

of

polluting

emissions

in

the

22

atmosphere

via

cloud

seeding,

for

small-scale,

large-scale,

and

23

global-scale

alteration

of

the

environment.

24

Sec.

2.

NEW

SECTION

.

708C.2

Prohibited

acts.

25

A

person

shall

not

engage

in

polluting

atmospheric

activity,

26

cloud

seeding,

or

any

other

type

of

weather

engineering,

or

27

use

an

unmarked

or

unidentified

aircraft

or

other

vehicle

or

28

facility

to

engage

in

polluting

atmospheric

activity,

cloud

29

seeding,

or

any

other

type

of

weather

engineering,

unless

30

otherwise

provided

by

law.

31

Sec.

3.

NEW

SECTION

.

708C.3

Penalties

and

enforcement.

32

1.

The

department

shall

immediately

issue

a

cease

and

desist

33

order

to

a

person

suspected

of

violating

section

708C.2.

A

34

cease

and

desist

order

issued

under

this

section

shall

have

the

35

-1-

LSB

1118XS

(3)

91

sb/js

1/

3

S.F.

142

weight

of

a

court

order

and

any

violation

shall

be

punished

in

1

accordance

with

subsection

2.

2

2.

A

person

who

violates

section

708C.2

commits

a

class

“D”

3

felony.

A

separate

offense

is

committed

by

the

person

for

each

4

day

during

which

the

violation

has

been

conducted,

repeated,

5

or

continued.

6

Sec.

4.

NEW

SECTION

.

708C.4

Notice

to

cease

federal

or

7

armed

forces

programs.

8

1.

Federal

government

and

armed

forces

projects

must

meet

9

all

the

requirements

of

this

chapter.

If

an

activity

in

10

violation

of

section

708C.2

has

been

approved

explicitly

or

11

implicitly

by

the

federal

government,

the

department

shall

12

issue

a

notice

to

the

appropriate

federal

agency

that

the

13

activity

cannot

lawfully

be

carried

out

within

or

over

the

14

state.

15

2.

The

department

shall

determine

whether

violations

have

16

occurred

and,

if

deemed

necessary,

shall

refer

potentially

17

prohibited

activity

to

the

Iowa

air

national

guard.

18

Sec.

5.

EFFECTIVE

DATE.

This

Act,

being

deemed

of

immediate

19

importance,

takes

effect

upon

enactment.

20

EXPLANATION

21

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

22

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

23

This

bill

relates

to

geoengineering

by

creating

penalties

24

and

enforcement

procedures

for

persons

engaging

in

such

25

practices.

A

person

who

engages

in

polluting

atmospheric

26

activity,

cloud

seeding,

or

weather

engineering

commits

a

class

27

“D”

felony.

A

class

“D”

felony

is

punishable

by

confinement

28

for

no

more

than

five

years

and

a

fine

of

at

least

$1,025,

29

but

not

more

than

$10,245.

Each

day

the

person

violates

this

30

restriction

is

treated

as

a

separate

offense.

Additionally,

if

31

these

practices

are

suspected,

the

department

of

public

safety

32

(DPS)

is

authorized

to

issue

the

suspected

person

a

cease

and

33

desist

letter

having

the

weight

of

a

court

order.

34

The

bill

states

that

the

federal

government

and

armed

forces

35

-2-

LSB

1118XS

(3)

91

sb/js

2/

3

S.F.

142

must

abide

by

these

restrictions.

Should

an

act

approved

1

explicitly

or

implicitly

by

the

federal

government

or

armed

2

forces

be

in

violation

of

these

restrictions,

the

department

3

shall

issue

a

notice

to

the

appropriate

federal

agency

that

the

4

actions

are

unlawful.

DPS

may

refer

violations

to

the

Iowa

air

5

national

guard

if

DPS

deems

such

referral

as

necessary.

6

The

bill

takes

effect

upon

enactment.

7

-3-

LSB

1118XS

(3)

91

sb/js

3/

3