SB163 expands an exemption related to herbicide application provided to volunteers for local governments that was established in 2024 to volunteers for state agencies. In addition, it clarifies that volunteers that choose to become pesticide applicators or technicians are exempt from licensing fees in the same manner as state employees are exempt assuming they only use the certification as park of their work. This is a no cost, commonsense bill that would greatly expand efforts to control invasive plants on public state land under the supervision of the agency in charge. At Machicomoco State Park, our volunteer led organization is working to address multiple natural resource issues. In the past few years we have documented approximately 170 acres of land, about one quarter of the park, that has been taken over by the invasive Callery Pear due to the discontinuance of annual meadow mowing as the land came under state control. Our current efforts to control this and other invasive plants could be greatly expanded if this bill were to become law. We are certain that this issue goes far beyond the state park which we serve. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Robert Nellis, and I'm a constituent from VA House of Delegates District 15 (Laura Jane Cohen) and VA State Senate District 35 (David W. Marsden) . I'm writing to ask you to vote: YES on HB109 by Delegate Holly Seibold; YES on HB88 by Delegate Amy Laufer; YES on HB388/SB89 by Delegate Katrina Callsen; and, YES on SB163 by Senator Ryan McDougle. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands. Together these bills will support Virginia’s efforts to combat invasive plants and the damages they are causing to our farms, our forests, our health, our parks, and our economy. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I support HB109 and SB163. Invasive species cause serious ecological damage and economic loss. Allowing them to be sold in Virginia is highly irresponsible and should be stopped. Allowing volunteers to use herbicides to control them would help reduce the problems they cause.

Vote to help our community!

In 2024 the law was changed to allow volunteers, under appropriate supervision, to apply herbicides for the purposes of controlling invasive plants on land owned by local governments. This bill simply expands the law to apply to volunteers working with state agencies on state owned land such as State Parks. At Machicomoco, many invasive plants are thriving unchecked by DCR. Nearly one-quarter of the parks 645 acres have been taken over by the invasive Callery/Bradford pear over the past 8 years (how that happened is another matter). The volunteer-led Friends of Machicomoco organization has committed countless volunteer hours in efforts to remove these invasive trees, however, we need passage of this bill in order to make a lasting impact on the parks ecosystem. Please pass this commonsense, no cost bill that would enable and engage volunteers to make efforts to reclaim portions of our Virginia Public Lands impacted by invasive plant species.

I would like to limit invasive species in Va. Therefore I am encouraging voting yes for these bills.

We must do better to protect our natural surroundings. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands.