The Senate voted down Senate Bill 21-06, a measure that would have ended weather modification operations in North Dakota, by a final tally of 29 nays and 18 ayes.

Senator Beard, carrying the bill for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, argued the change was prompted by county-level petition drives and ballot measures in which voters in some counties chose to end weather modification. He told the Senate that only "two and a half counties" remain in the program and that the practice "affects all, including the surrounding counties that have ended the program." He said the committee recommended passage 4-2.

Opponents on the floor argued for local control and for continuing the practice in arid western counties that rely on it. Senator Dwyer, who identified himself as a western farmer, said weather modification "is a water management tool that helps take off the edge of these violent thunderstorms and enhances more efficient rainfall and thus reduces hail." Senator Bechdel urged protection of local control, saying counties had used petition and ballot processes to remove programs and that the floor should not ban it for every county.

Senator Clemens supported the statewide ban, saying weather modification operations can affect downwind counties; Senator Thomas urged a green vote on broader policy grounds, questioning whether the state should try to "modify mother nature." After debate, the secretary announced the final tally: 18 ayes, 29 nays, 0 absent; "The bill is lost."

Why it matters: the vote settles for now whether weather modification will be a matter of county opt-in/opt-out or statewide prohibition. Proponents argued the practice benefits dry, western farming operations; opponents defended county-level decision-making and noted petition-driven votes recently ended programs in some counties.

What happens next: the bill failed on final passage; local petition and ballot processes remain the lawful avenue by which counties can remove weather modification programs, per the record of county-level actions discussed on the floor.