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TNBillHB2063Substituted by SB2691

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 44; Title 55; Title 58; Title 59; Title 60; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69, relative to environmental protection.

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

Tennessee transformed a technical caption bill about permit timelines into a comprehensive atmospheric intervention ban through floor amendment, with enforcement tied to existing air quality violations rather than creating new criminal statutes.

Substituted by SB2691.

Our summary

PROHIBITION Tennessee prohibits the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the state's borders into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of sunlight.

ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM Violations fall under the Tennessee Air Quality Act. Any violation of or failure to comply with this provision constitutes a Class C misdemeanour offence.

PENALTIES Violators face a fine not to exceed $10,000 per day per violation.

UNUSUAL PROVISIONS The originally filed bill was a caption bill containing only a minor technical amendment reducing the timeframe from 180 days to 150 days in an unrelated environmental statute. The entire substance of the geoengineering prohibition came through a floor amendment, completely replacing the original content. The fiscal note explicitly assumes "the action prohibited by this legislation is not currently occurring in this state, nor will it in the future."

Official description

As enacted, prohibits the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 44; Title 55; Title 58; Title 59; Title 60; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.

Legislative history

This bill represents an unusual legislative journey even by Capitol Hill standards. Filed in January 2024 as a simple technical correction changing "one hundred eighty (180)" to "one hundred fifty (150)" in a single environmental statute, HB2063 functioned as what Tennessee calls a caption bill - a placeholder with broad enough language in its title to accommodate future amendments.

The bill moved methodically through the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee structure. After initial subcommittee approval for the amendment on March 5, the full committee took no action on March 13 and then deferred consideration to March 27. During this period, sponsors were added on March 7, 11, 19, and 20, suggesting coalition building around the forthcoming amendment. The committee finally recommended passage as amended on March 27, sending it to the Calendar and Rules Committee.

The pivotal amendment transformed the entire bill on the floor. Rather than the technical timeframe adjustment, the amended version prohibited atmospheric interventions with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or sunlight intensity. On April 1, the House completed action by adopting a Senate substitute, and the bill became Public Chapter 709 on April 17, taking effect July 1, 2024.

The "laid on table" procedures and "held on desk - pending amendment" language visible in early procedural history reflect the legislative mechanics of holding the bill in position while the substantive amendment was prepared. The addition of multiple sponsors during March committee consideration, along with repeated deferrals, indicates negotiations over the amendment's content before floor action.

  1. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 709
  2. Sponsor(s) Added.
  3. Comp. SB subst.
  4. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/1/2024
  5. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/28/2024
  6. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
  7. Placed on cal. Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee for 3/27/2024
  8. Sponsor(s) Added.
  9. Action def. in Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee to 3/27/2024
  10. Sponsor(s) Added.
  11. Placed on cal. Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee for 3/20/2024
  12. No Action Taken
  13. Sponsor(s) Added.
  14. Sponsor(s) Added.
  15. Placed on cal. Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee for 3/13/2024
  16. Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee
  17. Placed on s/c cal Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee for 3/5/2024
  18. Assigned to s/c Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee
  19. Ref. to Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee
  20. P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
  21. Intro., P1C.
  22. Filed for introduction

Bill text

Show consolidated bill text 
SENATE BILL 2691
By Southerland

HOUSE BILL 2063
By Fritts

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 44; Title 55; Title 58; Title 59; Title 60; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69, relative to environmental protection.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-201-105(d)(1), is amended by deleting "one hundred eighty (180)" and substituting "one hundred fifty (150)".

SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it.

Supplementary documents

TENNESSEE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

FISCAL MEMORANDUM

HB 2063 - SB 2691

February 29, 2024

SUMMARY OF BILL AS AMENDED (014295)

Prohibits the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight.

FISCAL IMPACT OF BILL AS AMENDED

NOT SIGNIFICANT

Assumptions:

  • The prohibition created by this legislation would fall under the Tennessee Air Quality Act (Act).

  • Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. Section 68-201-112(a), any violation of or failure to comply with a provision of the Act is a Class C misdemeanor offense, punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000 per day per violation.

  • It is assumed that the action prohibited by this legislation is not currently occurring in this state, nor will it in the future; therefore, this legislation will result in no significant fiscal impact on state government.

CERTIFICATION

The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Krista Lee Carsner, Executive Director