‘Liam’s Law’ to protect trees heads to governor

Last summer, a 9-year-old boy named Liam sent a handwritten letter to Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, expressing his love for trees and their importance in the community. After receiving a thank you note from Willett, Liam could not have predicted he would be testifying in the Natural Resources Subcommittee to support a tree canopy protection bill — better known as “Liam’s Law.”

Willett made it his mission to introduce a bill that focused on protecting trees when he received Liam’s note. 

“I am writing to you because I like trees,” Liam wrote. “Trees keep the air clean. Trees provide shade and make it less hot. Trees prevent soil erosion and are a habitat for many animals. Can you vote to protect the trees?”

After the Chesapeake Bay Foundation reached out to Willett, he patroned HB 2630, a bill that addresses the replacement of trees during the development process by allowing localities to establish a tree canopy fund.

In early February, Willett asked Liam to testify in the Natural Resources Subcommittee in support of the bill. 

“He was more composed than most of the adult witnesses we see and stood at the podium, with some help from a small step stool, to share his passion for protecting our trees,” Willett wrote in a newsletter.

On Wednesday, Liam showed up virtually in the Senate to show his support once again.

“He’s been like this since he was a toddler,” his mother, Kerrissa MacPherson, said. “He keeps asking me ‘so what’s my next letter going to be about?’”

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has advocated for this legislation, highlighting its potential to provide local governments with additional funding to plant and maintain trees on public and private property, thereby enhancing community tree canopies.

“One environmental lobbyist even shared that “I was Liam,” explaining that when she was nine years old, she too wanted to champion environmental causes,” Willett wrote in a weekly email update. “By the end of the testimonies Chairman Tran was referring to my bill not as HB 2630 but as Liam’s Law.”

The tree canopy fund would “collect, maintain, and distribute fees” gathered from developers who “cannot provide full tree canopy requirements,” according to the bill. 

Last Friday, the bill passed the Senate 27-9 and is awaiting to be approved by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

“I later asked Liam if he was nervous while appearing before the committee,” Willett continued in his email. “And he responded, ‘No, I was just talking about trees.’”