Running bamboo; cutting by localities; ordinance prohibiting spread; designation of certain plants.

Authorizes any locality to adopt an ordinance requiring proper upkeep of running bamboo and prohibiting the spread of running bamboo from a landowner's property, with violations punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $50 for a first violation and not to exceed $200 for a subsequent violation within 12 months. The bill includes running bamboo in the "other foreign growth" category that current law allows localities to regulate and in some cases to cut. The bill also directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to develop a model running bamboo ordinance and, with the Department of Forestry, to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding that clarifies the roles of the VDACS noxious weeds regulations and the work of the Virginia Invasive Species Working Group. Finally, the bill directs VDACS and DCR to examine the eligibility of certain plants for designation as noxious weeds. This bill is identical to