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House defeats bill that would ban weather 'geoengineering' projects above Louisiana
Summary
The House rejected HB 608, a wide-ranging measure originally aimed at prohibiting certain atmospheric weather-modification activities and creating permitting and oversight rules; floor amendments narrowed the bill but it failed 20–69 on final passage.
Representative Coats brought House Bill 608, described on the floor as targeting atmospheric geoengineering and certain proposed weather-modification activities. Coats told colleagues the measure was meant to prevent experimental aerosol injections and other large-scale atmospheric operations “spraying those particles in the atmosphere to direct sunlight away from the earth.”
Coats presented a multi-page floor amendment that removed fee and telecommunications provisions and deleted sections that earlier had raised separate concerns; he said the amendment narrowed the bill to focus on geoengineering and removed references that had prompted objections at committee. He said the intent was to protect Louisiana citizens from unconsented experiments "without our consent." “We don't want chemicals sprayed above us without our consent,” Coats said.
Lawmakers asked technical and policy questions. Representative Willard asked whether the bill was a “chemtrails” bill; Coats acknowledged overlap but emphasized the focus on geoengineering. Representative Freyberg pressed for scientific grounding and asked whether the supporting citations were current; Coats acknowledged many sources dated back several years and said he wanted to prevent experimentation without public consent. Representative Billings asked whether the bill shifted enforcement authority and whether DEQ testing was funded; Coats said those elements had been amended out.
Floor debate centered on whether the measure would impede legitimate research or emergency responses, whether it was sufficiently evidence-based, and whether Louisiana had permitting authority over airborne operations. Coats said the amendments removed the broader telecommunications and fee provisions and limited the measure to prohibiting atmospheric weather-modification activities for climate purposes.
After debate, the House took final passage; the clerk recorded 20 ayes and 69 nays and HB 608 failed on final passage.
