
DeSantis signs bill banning weather modification in Florida
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DeSantis signs bill banning weather modification in Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 56, spearheaded by Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami. It repeals current state law that allowed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits to change the weather. Anyone found doing so could face a third-degree felony, five years in prison and fines up to $100,000. The new law tasks state environmental officials with creating a public portal for people to report claims of weather modification, and gives officials discretion to investigate those claims. The law also requires publicly owned airports to report any planes that are equipped with weather modification or geoeningeering equipment.
DeSantis signed Senate Bill 56, spearheaded by Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, which repeals current state law that allowed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits to people or groups seeking to change the weather.
Weather modification is just as it sounds: It’s the act of artificially influencing the weather.
And in Florida, despite previous legislation, no institutions have ever sought a permit to change the weather, according to state environment officials.
Regardless, the new law makes it illegal to change or geoengineer the weather in the state. Anyone found doing so could face a third-degree felony, five years in prison and fines up to $100,000.
The new law tasks state environmental officials with creating a public portal for people to report claims of weather modification, and gives officials discretion to investigate those claims.
In addition, the law also requires publicly owned airports to report any planes that are equipped with weather modification or geoeningeering equipment to the Florida Department of Transportation.
In Senate committee meetings, discussion of the bill often delved into talks of “chemtrails” — a debunked theory that condensation from airplanes is made of chemicals dispersed into the atmosphere.
Depending on what side of the internet you’re on, theories speculate these chemicals could cause changes to weather or mass mind control.
“Many of us senators receive concerns and complaints on a regular basis regarding these condensation trails, aka chemtrails,” Garcia said during an Agriculture, Environment and General Government committee meeting earlier this year.
“There’s a lot of skepticism with regards to this, and basically what I wanted to do with this is try to look for a way to separate fact from fiction.”
There was little question as to whether DeSantis would sign the bill, having already thrown his support behind the legislation.
“People got a lot of kooky ideas, that they can get in and put things in the atmosphere to block the sun and save us from climate change — we’re not playing that game in Florida,” DeSantis said in a video posted to social media after the Senate passed its version of the bill in early April.
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