From Clay:
All –
I attended a webinar with VCN yesterday and received this updated info for the tree legislation status:
House Bill 2042 and Senate Bill 1393 are a little different from each other. They both can be found as follows:
House Bill 2042 – https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+HB2042
Senate Bill 1393 – https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+cab+HC10205SB1393+SB1REF
A reenactment clause was added to each bill. They will come up again in the 2022 session for reenactment. This clause allows for the bills to remain as they are, or to be changed if desired. A stakeholder group was created at the end of the 2021 session, chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Natural Resources to evaluate the bills further and report its recommendations back to the House and Senate by November 1, 2021. I’ll keep an eye out for this report and pass it along when it is released. The House Bill will be referred to its Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. The Senate bill will be referred to its Local Government Committee.
As of now, the House Committee members for our City are: Askew and Guy
As of now, the Senate Committee members for our City are: DeSteph and Kiggans
There could be changes to these members after the November 2 election.
Actions to Take:
1 – Write members of City Council NOW and ask for them to include support for reenacting both bills in their legislative package – usually adopted by City Council in early November. A list of them and contact info is here: https://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/city-manager/Pages/form-of-government-and-city-officials.aspx
Please note the Lynnhaven District seat is currently vacant – City Council will appoint a member to fill that vacancy soon.
2- Write your local House and Senate representatives and ask them to support reenacting their respective bills during the 2022 session. You can find your representatives here: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov
There could be changes to these members after the November 2 election.
Hope this is helpful!
Clay
Friends of Live Oaks 