Consumer Protection

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not provide specific details on the penalties for violations, leaving it to the Consumer Protection Act.

Ban on Certain Weather Modification Activities

This bill makes it illegal for weather-related companies to perform specific activities that modify weather and environmental conditions in Tennessee.

What This Bill Does

• Makes it unlawful for a weather-related company to seed or disperse substances into clouds or fog, use fires or heat sources to influence air movement, release gases or dusts to affect sunlight, or treat land and water surfaces with materials.
• Defines 'cloud seeding' as a method of changing rainfall patterns by adding chemicals into the atmosphere.
• States that breaking these rules is considered unfair or deceptive under Tennessee's Consumer Protection Act.

Who It Names or Affects

• Weather-related companies that offer services such as weather forecasting, modeling, data analysis, atmospheric assessments, and cloud seeding.

Terms To Know

Cloud Seeding

A method used to change rainfall patterns by adding chemicals into the atmosphere.

Weather Modification

Activities or services that aim to alter atmospheric conditions, such as changing cloud behavior or land surface characteristics.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what penalties will be applied for breaking the rules.
• It is unclear how this law will affect existing weather modification activities in Tennessee.

Official Summary Text

This bill makes it
unlawful for a weather-related company to do any of the following in this state:



Seeding or dispersing of any substance into clouds or fog, to alter drop size distribution, produce ice crystals or coagulation of droplets, alter the development of hail or lightning, or influence in any way the natural development cycle of clouds or their environment
.



Using fires or heat sources to influence convective circulation or evaporate fog
.



Modifying the solar radiation exchange of the earth or clouds through the release of gases, dusts, liquids, or aerosols into the atmosphere
.



Modifying the characteristics of land or water surfaces by dusting or treating the surfaces with powders, liquid sprays, dyes, or other materials
.

This bill provides t
hat a violation
constitutes a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977
as
an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting trade or commerce
,
and is subject to the penalties and remedies as provided in t
hat Act
.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 899
By Todd

SENATE BILL 723
By Lowe

SB0723
000655
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47,
Chapter 18 and Title 68, Chapter 201, relative to
weather modification.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
47-18-5801.
As used in this part:
(1) "Cloud seeding" means a method of weather modification for the
purpose of directing rainfall to a specific location by a process of injecting,
releasing, or dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere by any means;
(2) "Weather modification" means an activity or service performed by a
public or private entity with the expressed purpose of changing the composition,
behavior, or dynamics of the atmosphere; and
(3) "Weather-related company" means a public or private entity that
offers as a service weather forecasting, modeling and data analysis, atmospheric
and environmental assessments, weather modification, or cloud seeding.
47-18-5802.
It is unlawful for a weather-related company to do any of the following in this
state:
(1) Seeding or dispersing of any substance into clouds or fog, to alter
drop size distribution, produce ice crystals or coagulation of droplets, alter the

- 2 - 000655

development of hail or lightning, or influence in any way the natural development
cycle of clouds or their environment;
(2) Using fires or heat sources to influence convective circulation or
evaporate fog;
(3) Modifying the solar radiation exchange of the earth or clouds through
the release of gases, dusts, liquids, or aerosols into the atmosphere; or
(4) Modifying the characteristics of land or water surfaces by dusting or
treating the surfaces with powders, liquid sprays, dyes, or other materials.
47-18-5803.
A violation of this part constitutes a violation of the Tennessee Consumer
Protection Act of 1977, compiled in part 1 of this chapter. A violation of this part
constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting trade or commerce and is
subject to the penalties and remedies as provided in the Tennessee Consumer
Protection Act of 1977.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 47-18-104(b), is amended by adding
the following as a new subdivision:
( ) Violating § 47-18-5802;
SECTION 3. This act takes effect on July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.