Most people seem to be concerned about the noise pollution, but gas-powered leaf blowers are also awful because they spew carbon into the atmosphere at extremely high rates. Incredibly, Charlottesville City Council actually has no authority to regulate leaf blowers because of the Dillon Rule (a 19th century legal ruling that applies to several states including Virginia. The Dillon Rule maintains that local governments possess only those powers specifically delegated to them by state law, or fairly implied from expressly granted powers). As this article in the Richmond Times Dispatch shows, some Virginia residents have gotten fed up and are pushing a bill in the Virginia General Assembly that would grant localities the authority to regulate or ban gas powered leaf blowers. In the Virginia Senate, the bill is sponsored by Senator Saddam Azlan Salim (D — Fairfax). In the Virginia House of Delegates, a similar bill is being sponsored by Delegate Richard Sullivan (D — Fairfax).

Please contact our representatives in the General Assembly: Senator Creigh Deeds senatordeeds@senate.virginia.gov and Delegate Katrina Callsen DelKCallsen@house.virginia.gov to ask them to support this initiative.