# Virginia HB88: Highway rights-of-way; invasive species.

Virginia HB88, Highway rights-of-way; invasive species., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Amy J. Laufer (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0063)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB88-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB88
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Highway rights-of-way; invasive species.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-01
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0063)
- Sponsor: Amy J. Laufer (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 10 (263 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Highway rights-of-way; invasive species. Prohibits the Commonwealth Transportation Board (the Board) and Commissioner of Highways from planting or causing or suffering to be planted any invasive plant on the list of invasive plants created by the Department of Conservation and Recreation on the right-of-way of any state highway. Current law prohibits the planting of three listed plants if the governing body of the locality declares such weeds or plants to be injurious and requires the Board to remove such plants. The bill removes such requirement for the Board to remove such plants and requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a review of the processes and resources that are necessary and appropriate to (i) determine the prevalence of invasive plants on the list of invasive plant species created by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and develop options for establishing and implementing a plan to remove or control such plants and manage such plants on an ongoing basis.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Landowners can remove harmful roadside plants: benefit, low. Landowners, their agents, and employees can remove and destroy listed invasive plants from public highway land beside their property. They do not need a county resolution declaring those invasive plants harmful. They can also remove other plants or weeds that harm, or may become harmful to, their p…
- Virginia bans planting listed roadside invasive plants: benefit, low. Virginia transportation officials cannot plant, arrange planting, or allow planting of listed invasive plants on state highway land. The ban uses the invasive plant list created under Virginia Code § 10.1-104.6:2. The Department of Transportation must review resources and processes for measuring th…
- Virginia drops its roadside plant cleanup duty: cost, low. The law ends the Board of Transportation's duty to dig up and destroy certain plants on state highway land. This covers plants that the Board or Commissioner of Highways planted or arranged to have planted. Households do not gain a new duty to remove them.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Amy J. Laufer (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-19 | Senate | Reported from Transportation and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Reported from Appropriations with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Reported from Transportation with substitute and referred to Appropriations | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (37)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0063) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 63 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB88) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB88ER) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-04: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-27: Passed Senate Block Vote (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB88) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Reported from Transportation and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Referred to Committee on Transportation (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-11: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-11: committee substitute rejected (House)
- 2026-02-11: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-10: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-06: Committee substitute printed 26107203D-H2 (House)
- 2026-02-06: Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-04: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-04: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Committee substitute printed 26106402D-H1 (House)
- 2026-01-29: Reported from Transportation with substitute and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Assigned HAPP sub: Transportation & Public Safety (House)
- 2026-01-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB88) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HTRAN sub: Transportation Infrastructure and Funding (House)
- 2026-01-01: Referred to Committee on Transportation (House)
- 2026-01-01: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102366D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216256.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216255.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191136.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191135.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133549.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133548.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127628.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127228.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127627.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127227.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101927.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101926.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098197.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098196.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-01: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082325.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082324.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216256.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216255.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191136.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191135.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133549.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133548.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127628.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127228.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127627.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127227.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101927.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101926.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098197.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098196.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082325.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082324.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB88-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).