HB 710 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Invasive plant species installation; written notification to property owners, civil penalty.

Summary
Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services; invasive plant species installation; written notification to property owners; civil penalty. Provides that the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services may assess a civil penalty in an amount of not more than $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second violation, and $1,000 for each subsequent violation to any tradesperson involved with proposing or installing plants who fails to provide written notification to property owners when such plants are on the Department of Conservation and Recreation's list of invasive plant species. Current law provides that any such tradesperson who fails to provide such written notice is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to SB 383.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Agriculture Subcommittee Substitute Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill was finalized and approved, changing its status from a House substitute to a Chaptered act. The substantive policy content regarding penalties for failing to notify property owners about invasive plants remains unchanged, with only minor formatting adjustments to section citations.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it is now an official chapter of the Code of Virginia.
TECHNICAL

Updated the document header to reflect Chapter 412 and the approval date of April 8, 2026, finalizing the bill's enactment.

Added spacing around section numbers in citations (e.g., § 3.2-802) to align with standard formatting conventions.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 26, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
32
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 412 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB710ER)
lower
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (95-Y 2-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Committee
Assigned HACNR sub: Agriculture
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Justin Pence
Justin Pence
RRepublican
VA
33