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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NOS. 2656 & 2388
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
6079H.04C JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 640, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to geoengineering
and weather modification, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 640, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 640.870, to read as follows:
640.870. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Clean Skies
2 Act".
3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Air craft", any device now known or herea fter invented, used, or designed
5 for navigation of or flight thr ough the air;
6 (2) "Airport", an area on land or water that is used or intended to be used for
7 the landing and takeoff of air craft including buildings, equipment, facilities, rights-of-
8 way , prop erty , and appurtenant ar eas;
9 (3) "Cloud seeding", a type of weather engineering or experimentation that
10 involves the r elease of chemicals, chemical compounds, and pollutants into the
11 atmospher e that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the
1 2 micr ophysical pr ocess within the cloud to change the amount or type of pr ecipitation;
13 (4) "Department", the department of natural res ource s;
14 (5) "Geoengineering", the large-scale alteration or manipulation of the
15 envir onment including, but not limited to, the relea se of the following agents that
16 incr ease air pollutants which affect changes to the earth's atmospher e or surface:
17 (a) Aerosols, chemicals, chemical compounds;
18 (b) Any physical or biological agents;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
19 (c) Solar radiation modification;
20 (d) Solar radiation refl ection methods;
21 (e) Climate intervention; or
22 (f) Stratospheric aerosol injection;
23 (6) "Person", the same meaning as used in section 1.020;
24 (7) "Pollutant", includes, but is not limited to, the following:
25 (a) An aer osol, biologic, trans-biologic, genetically modified agent, chaff, metal,
26 radioactive material, acid, alkali, chemical, chemical compound, contaminant,
2 7 micr oelectroni c mechanical system, smart dust, smoke, soot, substance, fume, vapor ,
28 or air pollutant reg ulated by this state;
29 (b) A mechanical vibration, physical agent, particulate, or waste, including
30 materials that may be recycl ed, r econditioned, or r eclaimed;
31 (c) A solid, liquid, gaseous, or thermal irritant; and
32 (d) An artificially pr oduced electric field, magnetic field, electr omagnetic field,
33 electr omagnetic pulse, sound wave, sound pollution, light pollution, micr owave, or
34 ionizing or nonionizing radiation;
35 (8) "Release", any activity that r esults in the issuance of contaminants such as
36 the emitting, transmitting, discharging, or injecting of one or mor e nuclear , biological,
37 trans-biological, chemical, or physical agents, into the ambient atmospher e, whether
38 once, intermittently , or continuously;
39 (9) "Serious physical injury", a physical injury that cr eates a substantial risk of
40 death or that causes serious disfigur ement or pr otracted loss or impairment of the
41 function of any part of the body;
42 (10) "W eather modification", changing, contr olling, or interfering with or
43 attempting to alter , change, control, or interfer e with the natural development of cloud
44 forms, pr ecipitation, bar ometric pr essur e, temperatur e, conductivity , or other
4 5 electr omagnetic or sonic characteristics of the atmospher e.
46 3. Notwithstanding any other prov ision of law , no person shall engage in any
47 form of geoengineering, weather modification, or cloud seeding in this state.
48 4. (1) The department shall creat e a publicly accessible online form for
49 r eporting suspected violations under this section. The form shall contain a warning that
50 filing a false r eport with the department constitutes a class B misdemeanor as pr ovided
51 under subdivision (5) of this subsection. The department shall establish pr ocedur es to
52 investigate cred ible repor ts to determine whether any violation has occurr ed.
53 (2) For purposes of this subsection, a cr edible re port shall meet the following
54 r equir ements:
55 (a) a. The r eport is made by an airport employee or the owner of an air craft.
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56 b. If the person filing the repo rt is an airport employee, the re port shall include
57 the airport’ s thr ee-letter code assigned by the International Air T ransport Association,
58 and the person filing the rep ort shall certify that the person is an employee of such
59 airport.
60 c. If the person filing the r eport is the owner of an air craft, the rep ort shall
61 include the air craft’ s r egistration number assigned by the Federal A viation
6 2 Administration, and the person filing the report shall certify that the person is the
63 owner of such aircra ft.
64 (b) The rep ort explains the natur e of the violation that has occurr ed and the
65 equipment on the aircr aft which enabled a violation;
66 (c) The repo rt includes the location of the aircraft which allows it to take flight;
67 and
68 (d) The r eport does not include images of the aircra ft in flight appearing to
69 pr oduce contrails.
70 (3) If the department determines that a violation of this section has occurr ed, the
71 department shall forward the res ults of the investigation to the county pr osecutor of the
72 county in which such violation occurr ed or the Missouri attorney general's office for
73 potential pr osecution.
74 (4) The department may enlist the assistance of local law enforcem ent, the
75 Missouri state highway patrol, or the Missouri National Guard to investigate and
76 enfor ce the prov isions of this section as deemed necessary .
77 (5) Any person who makes a false report to the department that a violation of
78 this section has occurr ed shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor .
79 5. (1) Except as pr ovided under subdivision (2) of this subsection, a person who
80 violates this section shall be guilty of:
81 (a) A class A misdemeanor for the first offense; and
82 (b) A class E felony for any second or subsequent offense.
83 (2) If serious physical injury or death r esults fr om a violation of this section, a
84 person shall be guilty of a class C felony .
85 6. Any person harmed by a violation of this section may commence a civil action
86 in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the court finds that a violation occurr ed, the
87 court may grant damages, including punitive damages, injunctive r elief, attorney's fees,
88 and any such other reli ef the court finds appr opriate.
89 7. The pr ovisions of this section shall not apply to:
90 (1) Actions taken for the purposes of farming and ranching operations in this
91 state unless such actions constitute cloud seeding; and
92 (2) Contrails fr om an air craft.
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93 8. An owner of an air craft or employee of an airport who is awar e of an air craft
94 equipped for cloud seeding, geoengineering, or weather modification and fails to make a
95 r eport to the department shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor .
96 9. The department shall promul gate all necessary rules and r egulations for the
97 administration of this section including, but not limited to, listing the chemicals that ar e
98 consider ed to be a violation of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is
99 defined in section 536.010, that is cr eated under the authority delegated in this section
100 shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provi sions of
101 chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are
102 nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to
103 chapter 536 to review , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule ar e
104 subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule
105 pr oposed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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