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NHBillSB520Inexpedient to Legislate

Repealing the statute governing weather modification experimentation.

  1. Introduced
  2. Passed one chamber
  3. Passed both chambers
  4. Passed

This two-sentence bill - the earliest in New Hampshire's weather modification legislative saga - proposed simply repealing the state's weather modification statute without explanation or replacement. Despite bipartisan Senate sponsorship, including five Senators, it was unanimously killed in committee, setting the stage for a pivot to the transparency-based approach that would succeed the following year with HB 128.

Senate voted Inexpedient to Legislate; the bill died.

Our summary

This bill aimed to repeal RSA 12-F, New Hampshire's weather modification law. It did not add new prohibitions, enforcement measures, or penalties. Instead, it would have removed the legal authority for state agencies to conduct weather modification experiments with the Governor and Council's approval.

If the bill passed, state agencies would lose apparent legal authority to do weather modification experiments. They would also not be able to work with the federal government on these activities or accept gifts, donations, or grants for weather modification.

This bill is brief and straightforward. Its central part is only one sentence. Unlike later bills such as HB 1700 and HB 764, SB 520 does not include findings or mention the Tenth Amendment. It also lacks enforcement rules or a new regulatory system. Instead, it takes a minimalist approach by repealing the law rather than adding prohibitions or penalties, as later bills do.

Legislative history

SB 520 was introduced on January 8, 2020, and assigned to the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee. The bill had robust bipartisan sponsorship for what would prove to be a controversial topic: five Senators (French, Carson, Gray, Ward, and Giuda) plus three House members (including Rep. Aron, who would later co-sponsor the successful 2021 transparency bill HB 128, and Rep. Potucek, who would also sponsor HB 128). Senator Ward would likewise appear as a sponsor of HB 128.

The committee held a hearing on January 15, 2020. It was just eight days later that it issued a unanimous 5-0 "Inexpedient to Legislate" recommendation, placing it on the Consent Calendar - a designation for noncontroversial committee decisions. The full Senate adopted this recommendation by voice vote on January 30, 2020, killing the bill without recorded opposition.

The swift and unanimous rejection is instructive: when the same coalition pivoted from outright repeal (SB 520) to a transparency and public notice requirement (HB 128 the following year), they achieved unanimous success. This suggests the legislature was comfortable with weather modification authority existing but wanted public accountability - a nuance that later prohibition bills (HB 1700 in 2024, HB 764 in 2025) would disregard by seeking outright bans with criminal penalties.

  1. Inexpedient to Legislate, Motion Adopted, Voice Vote === BILL KILLED ===; 01/30/2020; Senate Journal 2
  2. Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate; Vote 5-0; Consent Calendar; 01/30/2020; Senate Calendar 4
  3. To Be Introduced 01/08/2020 and Referred to Executive Departments and Administration; Senate Journal 1
  4. Hearing: 01/15/2020, Room 101, Legislative Office Building, 10:15 am; Senate Calendar 2

Bill text

Show consolidated bill text 
FORMATTED TEXT OUTPUT
SB 520 - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2917
05/04
SENATE BILL 520

AN ACT repealing the statute governing weather modification experimentation.

SPONSORS: Sen. French, Dist 7; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Gray, Dist 6; Sen. Ward, Dist 8; Sen. Giuda, Dist 2; Rep. Aron, Sull. 7; Rep. Camarota, Hills. 7; Rep. Potucek, Rock. 6
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration

ANALYSIS
This bill repeals the statute permitting state agencies to engage in weather modification experimentation.

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT repealing the statute governing weather modification experimentation.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1  Repeal.  RSA 12-F, relative to weather modification experimentation, is repealed.
2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Note: This bill did not include a fiscal note, consistent with a simple repeal that eliminates rather than creates government responsibilities.