The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government advanced seven bills on a series of roll calls Tuesday, with the panel singling out a proposed ban on geoengineering and weather modification for extended public testimony and debate.

SB 56, sponsored by Senator Jason Garcia, would prohibit the injection, release or dispersion of substances into the atmosphere to alter temperature, weather patterns or sunlight intensity within Florida, make each violation a separate offense with civil penalties and require the Department of Environmental Protection to establish a public reporting portal and related rules. Senator Garcia told the committee, “I'm here to present SB56, a critical bill prohibiting geoengineering and weather modification activities within Florida,” and repeatedly framed the measure as a way to give residents a way to “log, track, investigate and mitigate.”

The bill drew the largest public turnout. Cloud-seeding contractors and industry proponents including Augustus DeRico of Rainmaker urged the committee not to conflate long-established cloud-seeding practices with solar radiation management (SRM), arguing cloud seeding is local, short-lived and used to enhance precipitation for reservoirs and agriculture. DeRico said, “Cloud seeding is altogether different,” and described silver iodide use as producing environmental residues “in the parts per trillion after decades of operation.” By contrast, multiple citizen witnesses and other speakers described observable aerial spraying and urged a firm ban; one witness, Bradford L. Thomas, a retired judge, urged creating criminal penalties and told the committee he had observed “aerosol trails in the sky” over St. Augustine.

Senator Garcia and proponents emphasized the bill’s reporting and investigative component: DEP would create an online portal, phone line and email for residents to report suspected weather modification so the agency can log and, if necessary, refer matters to the Department of Health or Division of Emergency Management. Garcia described the measure as separating “fact from fiction” while responding to public concerns about aerial activity.

Also reported favorably were six other bills the committee took up, with sponsors briefly explaining each measure and committee members either posing technical questions or recording support by roll call: CS/SB 164 (vessel accountability, Senator Rodriguez) would create a free long-term anchoring permit program, expand penalties and authorize grants to local governments for derelict vessel prevention; SB 388 (Senator Rodriguez) would clarify and expand Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trust-fund authorities including investment and expanded allowable uses; CS/SB 1320 (Senator Rodriguez, as amended) would recreate the Resilient Florida Trust Fund within the Department of Environmental Protection and strike a scheduled July 1, 2025, termination; CS/SB 344 (Senator Rodriguez) would modernize the Telecommunications Access System Act (TASA), adopt PSC recommendations, broaden eligibility, and (in amendment) freeze an existing surcharge until reserve funds are drawn down and reduce the maximum surcharge from $0.25 to $0.15; CS/SB 92 (Senator Gruters) would increase repair-shop reporting and other accountability measures related to hit-and-run crashes (the amendment reduced threshold amounts and removed criminal penalties from earlier drafts); and CS/SB 86 (Senator Burgess) would expand voluntary peer-support eligibility for first-responder support personnel.

Discussion on several bills included policy and implementation questions rather than extended amendments. On SB 388, Senator Berman asked whether funds from the nongame wildlife trust fund could support immigration-enforcement activities in light of an agreement the senator referenced; Senator Rodriguez replied, “No. None of the funds, that are being allocated here will be used towards that purpose.” SB 344’s amendment reduced the maximum surcharge and added definitions; Senator Rodriguez described the change as in the binder and the committee adopted the strike-all amendment without objection. In the hit-and-run measure (CS/SB 92) sponsors and the National Federation of Independent Business raised concerns about the lowered reporting threshold (from $5,000 to $2,500) and a three-business-day submission timeline for repair shops; Tim Nungesser of NFIB urged a longer submission period and more flexible enforcement against licensing revocation.

Votes at a glance (committee action)
- CS for SB 56 (Garcia): reported favorably; roll call recorded in committee (tally not specified in the transcript). The bill’s text as explained would ban injection/release/dispersion of substances to alter weather, create enforcement and establish DEP reporting and rulemaking authority; penalties described in committee included civil fines up to $100,000 per violation as stated by the sponsor.
- CS for SB 164 (Rodriguez): reported favorably; committee substitute explained as creating a free long-term anchoring permit program, increasing penalties and authorizing local-government grants for a derelict-vessel prevention program.
- SB 388 (Rodriguez): reported favorably; explained as clarifying FWC trust funds, authorizing investment/reinvestment of administrative trust-fund balances and expanding allowable uses of certain trust funds for research, habitat acquisition and law enforcement.
- CS for SB 1320 (Rodriguez, as amended): reported favorably; the amendment recreated the Resilient Florida Trust Fund within DEP and removed the July 1, 2025 termination language.
- CS for SB 344 (Rodriguez): reported favorably as amended; amendment defines additional actors, freezes an existing surcharge until reserve funds are diminished and reduces the maximum permitted surcharge to $0.15.
- CS for SB 92 (Gruters): reported favorably; sponsor described lowering the reporting threshold to $2,500 and other changes; public testimony raised concerns about small business reporting burdens and timeline for submission.
- CS for SB 86 (Burgess): reported favorably; the bill expands voluntary peer-support eligibility to additional support personnel and drew unanimous favorable statements in committee.

What’s next: Each measure was reported favorably by the committee and will appear on the committee’s “see us” list for subsequent floor or committee action. Several sponsors and witnesses said they expect technical fixes or further negotiation before later committee stops, particularly on SB 92 (repair-shop reporting mechanics) and SB 56 (scope and enforcement approaches for atmospheric activities). The committee chair closed the meeting after recording the roll calls for all items.