STORAGE NAME: h0477a.NRD
DATE: 4/2/2025
1
FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BILL ANALYSIS
This bill analysis was prepared by nonpartisan committee staff and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
BILL #: CS/HB 477
TITLE: Weather Modification Activities
SPONSOR(S): Steele
COMPANION BILL: CS/CS/SB 56 (Garcia)
LINKED BILLS: None
RELATED BILLS: None
Committee References
Natural Resources & Disasters
17 Y, 0 N, As CS
State Affairs
SUMMARY
Effect of the Bill:
This bill increases the maximum fine for conducting certain activities related to weather modification from $500 to
$10,000, including conducting weather modification without first obtaining a license, making a false statement in a
license application, or failing to file required reports related to weather modification activities.
Fiscal or Economic Impact:
None.
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
ANALYSIS
EFFECT OF THE BILL:
The bill increases the maximum fine for conducting certain activities related to weather modification from $500 to
$10,000. Specifically, these activities include:
Conducting weather modification activities without first obtaining a weather modification license from the
Department of Environmental Protection;
Making a false statement in a license application;
Failing to file required reports related to weather modification activities;
Carrying out weather modification activities after revocation or suspension of a license; or
Violating any other provision of the weather modification law. (Section 1)
The maximum fine applies to any person or corporation that carries out any of these activities. (Section 1)
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2025. (Section 2)
RELEVANT INFORMATION
SUBJECT OVERVIEW:
Weather Modification
Weather modification and geoengineering are a range of techniques aimed at manipulating Earth’s climate systems
to modify precipitation or mitigate the impacts of global temperatures. Weather modification, such as cloud
seeding, involves altering local or regional atmospheric conditions to increase precipitation or reduce hailstorms.
Geoengineering, such as solar radiation modification, focuses on larger-scale actions to reduce the amount of
sunlight reaching Earth.
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
2
Solar Radiation Modification
Solar radiation modification (SRM) refers to deliberate, large-scale actions intended to decrease global average
surface temperatures by increasing the reflection of sunlight away from the Earth.
1 Extensive research efforts are
underway to gain a comprehensive understanding of SRM technologies. This research focuses on developing and
studying a range of potential future scenarios that combine SRM methods with emissions reductions and carbon
dioxide removal technologies, to varying degrees and over varying timescales.
2 There are several different kinds of
SRM technologies being researched, as shown below.
3
4
Cloud Seeding
Cloud seeding is the most common method of weather modification and focuses on producing short-term changes
in precipitation, primarily to enhance rain or snowfall or to suppress hail.
5 The most frequently used cloud seeding
approaches rely on the introduction of tiny particles, usually silver iodide, into certain cloud types to trigger the
formation of ice crystals or rain droplets from water already within the cloud.
6 Clouds amenable to these methods
include “cold season clouds” associated with mountainous terrain and “warm season clouds” associated with
convective systems, including thunderstorms.
7 While cold season cloud seeding is reasonably well understood,
substantial uncertainties remain regarding warm season cloud seeding.
8
1
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Solar Radiation Modification: NOAA State of the Science Factsheet
(hereinafter Solar Modification Factsheet), https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/solar-radiation-
modification-noaa-state-science-factsheet (last visited Mar. 19, 2025).
2
Id.
3
Id.; see also United States Congressional Research Service (CRS), Solar Geoengineering and Climate Change, 5-10 (2023),
available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47551 (last visited Mar. 19, 2025).
4
NOAA, Solar Modification Factsheet (last visited Mar. 19, 2025).
5
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Technology Assessment: Cloud Seeding Technology (hereinafter Technology
Assessment), 3, 5 (2024), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107328.pdf (last visited Apr. 1, 2025).
6
Id.
7
Id. at 3.
8
Id. at 5. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
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9
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, cloud seeding activities in the U.S. are primarily funded at
the state level or below.
10 As of July 2024, cloud seeding programs were active in at least nine states: California,
Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
11 Several other states have laws
that address weather modification in some way. In 2024, Tennessee became the first state to ban cloud seeding
and other weather modification operations in the state.
12 Similar bills have been introduced in at least eight other
state legislatures between January 2023 and December 2024, including Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas.
13
Weather Modification License
Since 1957, Florida law has required a license for weather modification activities.
14 Applications must be
submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and include:
The name and post office address of the applicant or the person on whose behalf the weather modification
operation is to be conducted if other than the applicant.
The education, experience, and qualifications of the applicant.
The applicant's education, experience, and qualifications.
The nature, object, and general description of the proposed weather modification operation.
The method, equipment, and materials the applicant proposes to use.
15
Each application must be accompanied by a $1,000 filing fee.
16 Applicants must also provide proof of financial
responsibility, namely, a certificate of insurance or a bond to prove their ability to pay damages for accidents
arising out of their weather modification operations in the amount of: $10,000 for bodily injury to or death of one
person resulting from any one incident, and subject to said limit for one person; $100,000 for bodily injury to or
death of two or more persons resulting from any one incident; and $100,000 for injury to or destruction of
property of others resulting from any one incident.
17
9
Id. at 4. (a graphic depicting cold and warm season cloud seeding) (last visited Apr. 1, 2025).
10
Id. at 6 (last visited Apr. 1, 2025).
11
Id.
12
Tenn. Code. Ann. § 68-201-122 (2024).
13
GAO, Technology Assessment at 9 (last visited Apr. 1, 2025).
14
Chapter 57-128, Laws of Fla.; s. 403.301, F.S.
15
Section 403.311(1), F.S. DEP may also require the applicant to submit other pertinent information. Id.
16
Section 403.311(2), F.S.
17
Sections 403.321(1), F.S. and 403.321(2), F.S. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
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Prior to beginning operations, the licensee must file with DEP a notice of intention to operate that includes the
licensee’s information and the area and approximate time of operations.
18 The notice must be published in a
newspaper within the county or counties of operation, and proof of publication must be filed with DEP.
19
Licensees are required to maintain a record of all operations conducted pursuant to the license, including the
method employed, the type and composition of materials used, the times and places of operation, and the name
and post office address of each person participating or assisting in the operation other than the licensee.
20 Such
records must be made available to the public.
21
Any person in violation of these requirements is guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor and subject to penalties
including imprisonment of up to 60 days and a $500 fine.
22 Each license entitles the licensee to conduct the
operation described in the application for the calendar year for which the license is issued unless the license is
revoked or suspended.
23 The conducting of any weather modification operation or the use of any equipment or
materials other than those described in the application is cause for revocation or suspension of the license. The
license may be renewed annually by payment of a $50 filing fee.
24 A weather modification license may be revoked
or suspended if DEP finds that the licensee has failed or refused to comply with any requirements related to
weather modification licensing.
25
DEP may grant an emergency license and waive notice requirements if a weather modification operation appears
to DEP to be necessary or desirable in aid of the extinguishment of fire, the dispersal of fog, or another
emergency.
26
According to DEP, there are currently no active weather modification licenses, and there have been no applications
for licenses in recent years.
27
In addition to regulating weather modification licenses, state law also authorizes DEP to study, research, and
experiment in the field of weather modification.
28 However, there is no indication that DEP has been involved in
such weather modification programs.
Federal Weather Modification Regulations
The Weather Modification Reporting Act of 1972 requires anyone who conducts weather modification activities
within the United States to report such activities to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Administrator at least ten days prior to undertaking the activities.
29 The report must include, among other things,
the project’s purpose and location, as well as the modification agents used (e.g., carbon dioxide, sodium chloride,
silver iodide).
30 Another report, which summarizes the project duration and total modification agents dispensed, is
required within 45 days after completion of the project.
31 For ongoing projects, interim reports are required on
January 1 of each year and must include the number of days weather modification activities took place, total hours
18
Section 403.351, F.S.
19
Sections 403.361, F.S. and 403.371, F.S. The notice must be published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a
newspaper having general circulation and published within any county or counties where the operation is to be conducted and
in which the affected area is located. See Section 403.361, F.S.
20
Section 403.381(1), F.S.
21
Section 403.381(2), F.S.
22
Sections 403.411, F.S., 775.082(4)(b), F.S., and 775.083(1)(e), F.S.
23
Section 403.331(2), F.S.
24
Section 403.331(3), F.S.
25
Section 403.401, F.S.
26
Section 403.391, F.S.
27
Email from DEP to staff of the Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee (Feb. 24, 2025) (on file with the Natural
Resources & Disasters Subcommittee).
28
Section 373.026(6), F.S.
29
15 U.S.C. § 330a; 15 CFR 908.4(a).
30
15 CFR 908.4(a).
31
15 CFR 908.6. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
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of operation, and the amount of agent used.
32 Failure to adhere to these reporting requirements can result in fines
of up to $10,000.
33
Activities subject to these reporting requirements include:
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 to 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 with powders, liquid sprays,
dyes, or other materials.
Releasing electrically charged or radioactive particles, or ions, into the atmosphere.
Applying shock waves, sonic energy sources, or other explosive or acoustic sources to the atmosphere;
Using aircraft propeller downwash, jet wash, or other sources of artificial wind generation.
Using lasers or other sources of electromagnetic radiation.
34
These reporting requirements do not apply to activities of a purely local nature that can reasonably be expected
not to modify the weather outside of the area of operation.
35 This exception is restricted to the use of lightning
deflection or static discharge devices in aircraft, boats, or buildings, and to the use of small heat sources, fans,
fogging devices, aircraft downwash, or sprays to prevent the occurrence of frost in tracts or fields planted with
crops susceptible to frost or freeze damage. Also exempt are religious activities or other ceremonies, rites, and
rituals intended to modify the weather.
36
According to NOAA’s website, NOAA is not currently researching or conducting weather modification experiments
and has no plans to do so in the future. However, NOAA studies the stratosphere and marine boundary layer with
instruments on balloons and aircraft to help fill important gaps in our knowledge and inform decisions about the
potential risks and benefits of solar geoengineering.
37
BILL HISTORY
COMMITTEE REFERENCE ACTION DATE
STAFF
DIRECTOR/
POLICY CHIEF
ANALYSIS
PREPARED BY
Natural Resources & Disasters
Subcommittee
17 Y, 0 N, As CS 4/1/2025 Moore Weiss
THE CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE
COMMITTEE:
Removed provisions that repealed DEP’s weather modification license
program; and
Removed provisions that banned weather modification activities
outright and instead increased the fine for conducting such activities
without a license or violating related provisions from $500 to $10,000.
State Affairs Committee
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THIS BILL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE CHANGES DESCRIBED ABOVE.
32
15 CFR 908.5.
33
15 U.S.C. § 330d; 15 CFR 908.10.
34
15 CFR § 908.3(a). While all of these activities are subject to initial reporting, NOAA may waive the subsequent reporting
requirements. The decision to waive certain reporting requirements is based on the general acceptability, from a technical or
scientific viewpoint, of the apparatus and techniques to be used. 15 CFR § 908.3(d).
35
15 CFR § 908.3(c).
36
Id.
37
NOAA, Fact check: Debunking Weather Modification Claims (Oct. 23, 2024), https://www.noaa.gov/news/fact-check-
debunking-weather-modification-claims (last visited Apr. 1, 2025). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
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