Governor Glenn Youngkin is joining the fight against invasive plants.
The next time you see English Ivy for sale, it might also have a warning sign letting you know it’s an invasive plant. That's because Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a bill requiring warning signs for retailers who sell them.
"What we’re really trying to do with this bill is educate people at the point of sale by making sure that consumers are aware of which plants are invasive and which ones are natives so that they are making informed and educated choices," says Delegate Holly Seibold, a Democrat from Fairfax County.
The governor vetoed a similar bill last year expressing concerns about a list of invasive plants that was put together by a third party. So, lawmakers changed strategies this year and instead added the Latin names of 39 invasive plants to the Virginia code.
"The next step for this is now really for the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to really design the signage itself," explains Senator Saddam Salim, a Democrat from Fairfax County.
Those signs will be required when the law goes into effect in 2027.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
