Louisiana: Senate Bill 46 (SB 46) Act No. 201
Title: An Act relating to intentional release or dispersion of chemicals into the atmosphere
Introduced: March 31, 2025 (prefiled), 2026 Session
Status: Signed into Law (Act 95): June 8, 2025, Effective August 1, 2025
Sponsor: Senator Michael "Big Mike" Fesi (R-20)
Bill Summary:
• Prohibits intentionally injecting, releasing, applying, or dispersing chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus into the atmosphere for the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, climate, or the intensity of sunlight.
• Requires the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to establish procedures for receiving reports of suspected violations, including electronic reporting.
• Requires LDEQ to collect reported information and make it publicly available through its website or the state's Electronic Document Management System (EDMS).
• Repeals Louisiana's previous weather modification licensing laws and replaces them with a prohibition on intentional atmospheric weather modification activities.
Louisiana: Senate Bill 189 (SB 189) Act No. 601
Title: An Act relating to intentional atmospheric release of substances
Introduced: February 26, 2026
Status: Became Law (Act 601) without the Governor's signature: June 1, 2026
Sponsor: Senator Michael "Big Mike" Fesi (R-20)
Bill Summary:
• Prohibits intentionally injecting, releasing, applying, or dispersing chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus into the atmosphere for the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, climate, or the intensity of sunlight.
• Specifically adds "by the burning of fuel in an aircraft engine" as an expressly prohibited method of atmospheric dispersal
• Continues existing exceptions for:
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Fire retardants and fire suppressants used to extinguish or suppress fires.
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Aerial application (below 1,000 feet AGL) of seeds, fertilizers, or pesticides for agriculture and forestry.
• Each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense
• Amends Louisiana's existing atmospheric modification prohibition enacted in 2025 rather than creating a new prohibition
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