HB 1271 South Dakota House · 2026 Regular Session

prohibit weather and climate modification activities and provide a penalty therefor.

HB 1271 prohibits the intentional release of specific chemicals (like aluminum barium, sulfur dioxide, or PFAS-containing chaff) into the atmosphere for weather modification, directly affecting operators of equipment used for such activities. It establishes a $100,000 minimum civil penalty per violation (plus $10,000 daily for ongoing violations) and creates a dedicated monitoring fund to cover enforcement costs. The bill requires airports to report aircraft equipped with weather-modification devices (excluding standard agricultural sprayers) to the Department of Transportation, which forwards reports to the Agriculture Department for investigation. Key mechanisms include online violation reporting, departmental investigation rules, and airport compliance reporting starting July 2026.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 4, 2026 Last action Feb 10, 2026
Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
1
Committee
0
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Agriculture and Natural Resources Deferred to the 41st legislative day , Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 3 H.J. 17
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Introduced
First read in House and referred to House Agriculture and Natural Resources H.J. 217
lower
6 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors