A measure by Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia aimed at banning weather modification in Florida cleared its first committee hurdle after some debate, including comments in support of the proposal from the President’s second wife.

The Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Committee voted 6-3 along party lines to advance the bill (SB 56), which Garcia amended to impose far steeper punishments on those who violate its strictures.

Garcia faced questions from her three Democratic colleagues on the panel — Kristen Arrington, Carlos G. Smith and Tina Polsky — about what information she based her bill on, how the state and federal government would handle and divvy up enforcement, and what the cost would be to Floridians.

Garcia said there is ample evidence available online, including on the websites of the White House, World Economic Forum and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showing that weather modification is a long-standing and ongoing practice.

There’s also no shortage of anecdotal evidence, she said, citing countless phone calls her office has received about the matter from residents complaining of unexplained weather phenomena and various health maladies.

Florida today has more than a dozen provisions on the licensing, regulation and control of weather modification meant to cause or disperse rain, snow, fog or other atmospheric conditions. But for the last decade, even though it’s still going on, Garcia said, the state hasn’t received a single license application.

That’s a problem, she said, and Florida needs better information about what’s going on and should provide residents with a way to report any suspicious activity they see.

“Some would call it concerns. Others would call it conspiracy theories. But I thought that perhaps this bill would allow us to start somewhere where we can start to separate fact from fiction,” she said.

“We don’t have a lot of regulations regarding airspace. We place a huge amount of emphasis on water quality control, and I think we should do the same with our air quality (because) not just anybody should be up there playing ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’”

If passed, SB 56 or its House companion (HB 477) by Dade City Republican Rep. Kevin Steele would repeal Florida’s existing statutes on weather modification and prohibit the practice outright.

Violators would face fines of $100,000, a sum far higher than the initial $10,000 penalty Garcia had in her bill to begin with. That was already considerably steeper than the usual $500 penalty associated with second-degree misdemeanors, which the violation would be classified as.

Money the state collects from penalizing unauthorized weather modifiers would go into Florida’s Air Pollution Control Trust Fund to establish and maintain a dedicated email, telephone line and online form to facilitate related complaints. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be tasked with first investigating those complaints, which it then could relay as needed to the Department of Health or Division of Emergency Management.

Garcia said 32 other states have already passed similar legislation. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 10 states have outlawed weather modification — known also as cloud seeding — or were considering such legislation by the end of 2024.

“I’ve been researching,” Garcia said, adding that she has been “tiptoeing” around the issue to avoid using “buzzwords” that trigger immediate skepticism.

“Yet many will complain — a lot of our constituents have — that there’s activity going on, aircrafts flying by, some type of condensation. And let’s call a spade a spade: chemtrails. That’s the term that the conspiracy theorists are coined with,” she said. “But think about what the concerns are: health risks … including respiratory issues. I get a lot of those complaints. Also allergies, environmental impact, concerns regarding possible soil and water contamination, harming wildlife, disrupting ecosystems, government transparency as a whole, government efficiency. It’s in question. It’s in play all the time.”

The concept of chemtrails is a decades-old, debunked belief that contrails, the white lines of condensed water vapor that jets leave behind in the sky, are in fact toxic chemicals that the government and other entities are using to alter the weather, sterilize people or control their minds.

Chemtrails conspiracy theories began circulating in the late ’90s after the U.S. Air Force published a report about weather modification. By 2001, federal bureaucracies had received thousands of communications about the fast-spreading concept, prompting numerous federal agencies and educational institutions to publish fact sheets to address public concerns.

More recently, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a measure in April banning the “intentional injection, release or dispersion” of airborne chemicals. Six months later, Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia reignited the argument by declaring on X, “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Greene’s comments drew censure from both sides of the aisle.

And who is this “they” to which Greene referred? Polsky posed that question during a public comments portion of Tuesday’s meeting to Aimee Villella McBride, one of several speakers representing the Global Wellness Forum who urged skeptics to watch the documentary, “The Dimming,” about alleged efforts to reduce solar radiation through chemical aerosolization.

“I think that was the important (point) of this bill, so we can start to track and have transparency to find out how exactly that is. Is this a state-level contractor? Is this a federal contractor? I don’t think we actually know that,” McBride said.

McBride and others rattled off lists of metals supposedly being injected into the air, including aluminum, barium and silver iodine.

Another speaker, Greg Diehl, said he routinely saw “unusual trails and streaks in the sky left behind by planes” before hurricanes struck the state. No one asked whether the aircraft had possibly been there to monitor or track the approaching storm.

Diehl referenced a 2021 Forbes article detailing a project Bill Gates was backing to support sun-dimming technology to cool the Earth. That effort involved spraying non-toxic calcium carbonate. Diehl also noted that the late pop star Prince discussed chemtrails during a 2011 talk show appearance and that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also promoted the idea.

Global Wellness Forum founder Marla Maples — an actress and TV personality who was once married to, and has one child with, Donald Trump — also spoke at Tuesday’s hearing. She lamented an increase in Alzheimer’s disease patients and a possible connection between them and weather modification.

Like McBride, she said the Stand for Health Freedom Foundation, which supports RFK Jr., received 18,000 emails in support of SB 56, and recommended watching “The Dimming,” which has more than 3 million views on YouTube.

“Let’s move this bill through so we can look deeper and find out the best solutions for all of us,” she said.

Asked by Polsky whether she knows anyone in the federal government who could help with the issue, Maples laughed and said, “I sure do.”

Republican Sens. Jason Brodeur of Lake Mary and Blaise Ingoglia of Spring Hill offered slightly different variations of the maxim, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

If putting heavy metals into the atmosphere “is good for us, somebody’s going to come tell us,” Brodeur said. “In the meantime, let’s not do that because it doesn’t sound very good.”

“I would rather act on the side of caution,” Ingoglia added.

Arrington, Polsky and Smith remained unconvinced that the measure had been sufficiently contemplated or vetted. Garcia admitted she hadn’t spoken in depth with DEP about her proposal, which could see a massive increase in calls, based on the 18,000 emails previously referenced.

“As a lawmaker, generally I think that before we legislate, we should investigate,” Smith said. “I don’t think it’s a good approach, public policywise, for us to pass the bill first and then see what happens after.”

SB 56, cosponsored by St. Augustine Republican Sen. Tom Leek, has two committee stops remaining. It is to next go before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

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Could property insurance relief finally be coming for Floridians? Newly filed legislation will be targeting Florida’s rising costs, aiming to improve the state’s claims process and increase rate transparency.

Crestview Republican Sen. Don Gaetz and Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade have filed bills (SB 554, HB 451) to reduce property insurance costs across the board.

“Floridians pay far more for property insurance than anyone anywhere else in the nation,” Gaetz and Andrade said in a news release. “Admittedly, Florida is a high-risk market, but we believe there are steps the Legislature can take to improve how rates are set and how individual claims can be processed faster and fairer.”

The legislation would require insurance companies to pay businesses and homeowners who have suffered losses promptly while streamlining the adjustment process to eliminate delays and reach fair settlements. The bills would further open the books of insurance companies that are asking to increase their rates and provide a way for attorneys fees to be paid by each side during the claims process.

While the Legislature has tried to keep insurance rates lower by eliminating unnecessary litigation costs, both Gaetz and Andrade say the measures have not done enough to help as rates have continued to climb over the past two years.

“High property insurance rates are one of the reasons in-migration has slowed,” Gaetz said. “High insurance costs make the Free State of Florida into the Unaffordable State of Florida for many seniors on fixed incomes trying to stay in their homes, young families including military families trying to buy their first homes and businesses of every size.”

It has been proposed that adjusters working for insurance companies or claimants make damage assessments available in a machine-readable format. Adjusters would be required to use software selected by the state insurance commission for their estimates, which would be subject to current data on market costs, eliminating delays in reaching settlements.

Furthermore, insurers would be required to reveal compensation packages paid to executive officers, with the news release stating there have been several examples of insurance companies excessively compensating company officers, while “pleading poverty” to state regulators.

The bills would increase transparency by requiring insurance companies to disclose any self-dealing with related companies when they are seeking to increase rates, while the Office of Insurance Regulation would be able to use revelations of self-dealing and executive compensation when analyzing an insurance companies’ true financial condition.

“The state’s sources of revenue are also impacted,” Andrade said. “The State Economist’s three-year forecast shows that our ability to pay the costs of public education, health care and other important expenses of state government are negatively affected by the increasing costs of property insurance. Local governments, hospitals and school districts must pay for property insurance, too.”

Furthermore, insurers would be required to reveal compensation packages paid to executive officers after there have been several instances of insurance companies excessively compensating company officers, while “pleading poverty” to state regulators.

Penalties on insurance companies who “drag their feet” when paying settlements would be increased, while establishing a fair way for both insurance companies and policyholders to share the cost of litigation.

“There is no silver bullet that will automatically drive down property insurance costs,” Gaetz and Andrade said. “But we need to do more than reduce litigation. Our bill tackles other drivers of insurance costs and provides a transparent framework for honest rate-setting and prompter payments.”

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The Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus is criticizing the appointment of Scott Yenor as a University of West Florida (UWF) Trustee over comments widely criticized as antisemitic.

The bipartisan group called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to reconsider naming the controversial nominee to the UWF board.

“We respectfully urge Governor DeSantis to reconsider this appointment and work to ensure that Florida’s universities reflect the principles of fairness, strong moral character, and commitment to the success of all students,” a caucus statement reads.

Rep. Michael Gottlieb, a Davie Democrat and Chair of the caucus, issued the statement on behalf of the bipartisan group after UWF Trustees elected the Boise State University professor as Board Chair.

The Jewish Legislative Caucus expressed “deep concern” over Yenor’s elevation.

“His history of antisemitic and misogynistic rhetoric is not only deeply offensive but also incompatible with the principles of leadership and integrity that should define Florida’s higher education system,” the caucus statement reads.

“Florida’s universities should be centers of academic excellence, preparing students to contribute to our state’s economic strength and national security. Allowing individuals with a track record of divisive and prejudiced remarks to hold positions of influence within our institutions undermines that mission and erodes public trust.”

After his selection, past comments about whether women should pick motherhood over higher education immediately generated headlines. More controversy in recent months followed when Yenor, in since deleted social media posts, questioned whether women or Jews should be considered for leadership posts in the U.S. Senate.

That prompted Sen. Randy Fine, the only Republican Jewish member of the Senate, to question whether the Senate should confirm Yenor’s appointment.

“Just last month, Mr. Yenor publicly questioned whether Jews elected to the United States Senate could be qualified for ‘national leadership,’” Fine posted. “He must still be confirmed by the Florida Senate and I will be sharing my concerns with my colleagues. There is no place for antisemitism in our Universities, let alone in their leadership.”

Fine is also a member of the Florida Jewish Legislative caucus. The group also includes Democratic Sens. Lori Berman and Tina Polsky. Former Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book remains a member emeritus.

The group includes Republicans and Democrats in the House as well. Republican Reps. Hillary Cassel and Yvette Benarroch both serve as Vice Chairs for the caucus. Membership includes Republican Reps. Mike Caruso, Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Chip LaMarca and Michelle Salzman, as well as Democratic Reps. Rita Harris, Mitch Rosenwald, Kelly Skidmore, Allison Tant and Debra Tendrich. Former Democratic Rep. David Silvers is also a member emeritus.

“The Jewish community has long been a cornerstone of Florida’s business, legal, and civic leadership,” the caucus statement reads. “At a time when antisemitism is rising nationwide, our state must take a firm stance against those who seek to marginalize or disparage any community. Ensuring that our universities are free from this kind of rhetoric is not about political ideology, it is about upholding the fundamental values of respect, responsibility, and merit-based leadership.”

DeSantis has defended naming Yenor to the position when confronted with Yenor’s remarks on women.

“I’m not familiar with that. I mean, obviously, I think if you look at the state of Florida, we probably have a higher percentage of women enrolled in our state universities than we do men, and that’s probably grown under my tenure,” DeSantis said during the Jacksonville press conference in January. “But what I don’t do, what I don’t like is cherry-picking somebody saying this, and then trying to smear them.”

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