Rhode Island House Passes Bill To Ban Invasive Plants

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island House passed a bill to ban the sale of invasive plants.

The legislation was sponsored by state Rep. Jennifer Boylan, D-Barrington and East Providence.

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“Invasive plants are a scourge on the biodiversity and natural beauty of Rhode Island, and between the work of our land trusts, the Department of Environmental Management and concerned community members across the state, we’ve put a lot of time and money into pulling them out of the ground," Bolyan said in a media release.

"But it is a lot easier if they never go into the ground in the first place,” Boylan said. “Rhode Island is an outlier in the United States — 46 other states restrict the sale and distribution of invasive plants — and it is past time we ban the sale and distribution of terrestrial invasive plants.”

The proposed law would ban the sale, importation, distribution, introduction or dispersal of any species of non-native invasive plant in Rhode Island, according to the release.

"The director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management would design and publish the rules and regulations that would govern the ban, as well as maintain a list of all prohibited plants," the release said. "The ban would not go into effect until these regulations were implemented."

Violations of the ban would be punishable by a fine of up to $500.

The bill heads to the state Senate.

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