Assemblyman thinks 'chemtrails' are in New York and not a conspiracy theory

And he's introduced a bill intended to prevent more of them from popping up.

Good afternoon — it’s Monday and Tortilla Chip Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• A state assemblyman believes in “chemtrails” and has introduced a bill intended to prevent more of them in New York. This is one you shouldn’t miss.

• At the Capitol: What’s on deck for Tuesday for the Legislature.

• This Week in New York History: Basketball on TV, Lincoln’s famous speech and a hotel for women.

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Some bills surprise observers by their very introduction but they often fly under the radar. We’ll tell you tales of actual legislation here.

(John Carl D’Annibale/Times Union)

🧪 Assemblyman thinks ‘chemtrails’ are appearing in New York and wants to ban them

I have had the displeasure of covering claims about several conspiracy theories during the course of my career. This is not one I thought would make the list.

As you know, I check for new bills introduced in the Legislature every day. I feature them in New Bills of Note most days. (Not today, I didn’t have room.)

A routine search last week produced a bill that I was sure I hadn’t read correctly when I first noticed it. I did a digital double-take of sorts and read the one-sentence bill slowly to confirm my confusion.

Join me now as I take you on a wild ride of sorts into how I discovered that an elected member of the state Assembly wants to protect his constituents from something that does not exist. It’s a conspiracy theory for the ages.

The bill would prohibit “the intentional injection, release or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather or intensity of sunlight.”

I nearly spit out my coffee. I had a suspicion of what that meant but wanted to give the assemblyman the benefit of the doubt. So I reached out to him.