Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1154 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R2207 MP-D
2	2	By: Hughes S.B. No. 1154
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a prohibition on weather and climate modification
10	10	activities by a governmental entity.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 301, Agriculture Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Section 301.002 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 301.002. WEATHER OR CLIMATE MODIFICATION BY
15	15	GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY PROHIBITED. (a) In this section,
16	16	"geoengineering" means the intentional injection, release, or
17	17	dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds,
18	18	substances, or apparatus into the atmosphere with the express
19	19	purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of
20	20	sunlight.
21	21	(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a governmental entity
22	22	may not engage in geoengineering, weather modification and control,
23	23	or cloud-seeding operations.
24	24	SECTION 2. Section 301.057, Agriculture Code, is amended to
25	25	read as follows:
26	26	Sec. 301.057. [CONTRACTS AND] COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.
27	27	[(a)] The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation may
28	28	cooperate with [public or] private agencies to promote the purposes
29	29	of this chapter.
30	30	[(b) The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation may
31	31	enter into cooperative agreements with the United States or any of
32	32	its agencies, with counties and municipalities of this state, or
33	33	with any private or public agencies for conducting weather
34	34	modification or cloud-seeding operations.
35	35	[(c) The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation may
36	36	represent the state, counties, municipalities, and public and
37	37	private agencies in contracting with private concerns for the
38	38	performance of weather modification or cloud-seeding operations.]
39	39	SECTION 3. Section 301.102(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
40	40	to read as follows:
41	41	(a) The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation by
42	42	rule, to the extent it considers exemptions practical, shall
43	43	provide for exempting the following activities from the license and
44	44	permit requirements of this chapter:
45	45	(1) research, development, and experiments conducted
46	46	by private [state and federal agencies,] institutions of higher
47	47	learning[,] and bona fide nonprofit research organizations;
48	48	(2) laboratory research and experiments;
49	49	(3) activities of an emergent nature for protection
50	50	against fire, frost, sleet, or fog; and
51	51	(4) activities normally conducted for purposes other
52	52	than inducing, increasing, decreasing, or preventing precipitation
53	53	or hail.
54	54	SECTION 4. The following provisions of the Agriculture
55	55	Code are repealed:
56	56	(1) Section 301.056;
57	57	(2) Section 301.058(b); and
58	58	(3) Chapter 302.
59	59	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
60	60	a contract entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.
61	61	A contract entered into before the effective date of this Act is
62	62	governed by the law in effect on the date the contract was entered
63	63	into, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
64	64	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.