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House rejects bill to ban geoengineering, committeereport 'ought not to pass' prevails
Summary
The Maine House accepted a committee recommendation not to pass a bill that would have broadly banned geoengineering and weather-modification practices after members debated scientific evidence and examples of state and international activity.
The Maine House on April 24 accepted a committee "ought not to pass" recommendation and rejected a bill that sought to ban large-scale geoengineering and certain weather modification activities.
Representative Dudera (Camden), speaking as the mover of the minority "ought not to pass" position, argued the bill was premature and lacked credible scientific evidence that the practices posed a current threat to Maine. "Banning geoengineering outright without any scientific or technical evidence that a particular technology is being used ... could potentially limit technologies in the future," Dudera said.
Members who supported the bill cited historical and international examples of weather modification and raised public health and sovereignty concerns. One member recounted Operation Popeye (Vietnam-era cloud seeding) and pointed to international programs, including China and the United Arab Emirates, and cited a 2009 flood in western Saudi Arabia that followed a weather-modification project.
The floor record includes references to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reporting requirements and the United Nations Environmental Modification Convention of 1977. Speakers also cited recent state-level measures: Tennessee (February 2024) banning intentional injection or dispersion of chemicals to affect temperature or sunlight and pending bills in Florida and Iowa addressing similar concerns.
After debate, the clerk announced the roll-call result: "88 having voted affirmative and 57 in the negative." The chair declared, "The motion prevails." The transcript indicates the House accepted the committeemajority report recommending the bill ought not to pass and sent that action on to the Senate as recorded on the floor.
The transcript did not include specific statutory language for a statewide ban or a bill number on the floor record; committee testimony and written reports were referenced during debate.
