SB 23 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Airborne Chemicals Amendments

SB 23 prohibits the use of aircraft to conduct solar geoengineering - defined as releasing chemicals to artificially reduce solar radiation - within Utah. It makes violating this prohibition a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $100,000 fine for aircraft owners or operators. The bill requires airport operators to report suspected solar geoengineering activity to the Department of Transportation, which must then forward credible reports to the Attorney General. It also establishes a public online system for submitting suspected violations. The law takes effect on May 6, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Amended Excerpts 3/4/2026 18:03:484 → Amended 3/4/2026 18:03:484 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was reformatted and slightly reorganized to clarify its provisions regarding solar geoengineering. The main substantive change is that the bill now explicitly defines solar geoengineering and establishes it as a third-degree felony when released from aircraft, whereas the original version had less clear language about the penalty. The reporting requirements for airport operators and the Department of Transportation remain largely the same.

Scope change

The bill now more clearly defines 'solar geoengineering' and explicitly excludes weather modification activities from its scope. The felony penalty for aircraft operators is now more prominently highlighted in the highlighted provisions section.

DEFINITION

Added explicit definitions for 'solar radiation management' and 'solar geoengineering' to clarify what activities are covered.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a clear statement that releasing chemicals from aircraft for solar geoengineering is a third-degree felony with specific penalties including up to $100,000 in fines.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized the highlighted provisions to better structure the bill's main requirements, though the actual reporting obligations remain unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Changed the document header format and renumbered sections for clarity, but these are primarily cosmetic changes.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ comm rpt/ sent to Rules/ amended [Senate Rules Committee]

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules [Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee]

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Introduced

Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation [Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee]

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee]

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors