Bill Description: Senate Bill 1065 would repeal sections of state code allowing for weather modification districts, and it would broadly prohibit weather modification with one narrow exception.
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Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?
Senate Bill 1065 would repeal sections 22-4301 and 22-4302, Idaho Code. These two sections deal with weather modification districts. There are no such districts in operation today, but one could be created under current law. Repealing these sections of the state code eliminates this possibility.
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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?
Senate Bill 1065 would replace these repealed sections (and add one more) by creating sections 22-4301, 22-4302, and 22-4303, Idaho Code.
These new sections would make it a crime for "any person to engage in weather modification or solar radiation management activities within the state of Idaho."
A violation of this law would be deemed a misdemeanor and "all state law enforcement personnel, any sheriff or deputy sheriff in a county, and any police officer in a city shall have authority to enforce this chapter."
The only exception would be for "cloud seeding operations authorized by the Idaho water resource board under chapter 43, title 42, Idaho Code."
Broad bans and criminalization are rarely the proper course of action, particularly when dealing with wide swaths of still emerging technology and innovation.
Additionally, giving the Idaho Water Resource Board sole authority over cloud seeding could impede both commercial endeavors and academic research in this area.
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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho
While elements of Senate Bill 1065 involve excessive government regulation and overcriminalization, other elements may protect individual and property rights that could be violated by more extreme forms of weather modification.
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