An Act to amend and reenact § 15.2-2403 of the Code of Virginia, relating to powers of service districts; control of invasive plant species.
HB388 amends Virginia’s service district statute, § 15.2-2403, to expressly add control of the spread of invasive plant species to the list of services that local governing bodies may provide within a service district. The bill keeps the existing framework that allows counties, cities, and towns to create service districts and use them to deliver enhanced local services such as utilities, transportation, beautification, public safety-related services, and recreational or cultural activities.
The measure also preserves and restates the authority of localities to construct, maintain, acquire, contract for, and finance facilities and services within a district, including by levying an annual tax on property in the district. The text continues to allow transportation-related projects and other improvements, while requiring disclosure of accumulated road-construction tax proceeds and maintaining the requirement that VDOT-operated facilities be established with local involvement and meet Department requirements.
The bill directly amends § 15.2-2403 of the Code of Virginia by expanding the enumerated powers of service districts to include invasive plant species control. As a result, local governments that establish service districts may use district resources and taxing authority for invasive plant management alongside other authorized local improvements and services. The bill does not create a new statewide program; rather, it broadens the menu of permissible district-level activities and may affect property owners within service districts that choose to fund such work.
The available record shows no committee transcript, vote tally, or recorded opposition, and the bill was enacted as Chapter 129. Based on that outcome, the overall sentiment appears to have been favorable or at least noncontroversial. The measure reads as a targeted local-government authority expansion rather than a major policy shift, which is consistent with its successful passage.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The only potentially sensitive issue is the breadth of service district powers and the use of local taxing authority for invasive species control, transportation, and other district improvements. Any disagreement would likely have centered on whether such costs should be borne by district property owners and how broadly localities should be allowed to define district services, but no recorded objections are included here.