Bill to only allow one balloon released per hour in Virginia passes Senate

RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) -- The Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would limit you to how many balloons you can release.

Senator Jennifer Kiggans (R) said one of her main platforms is the environment. She said she's opposed to offshore drilling, will work to protect our beaches, and supports beach replenishment projects.

Her bill, SB 318, reduces the number of balloons per hour that a person may release without penalty from 49 to one.

Any person who violates the bill could be fined $5 per balloon released above the allowable limits.

Kiggans said we don't litter on the ground "so why should we litter in the air?" while speaking on the Senate floor when Sen. Bill Stanley walked in with a red balloon.

The bill passed the Senate 25-15.

Nationwide, there's a growing awareness of the problem, and it has energized legislation in state governments.

Eric Sparks, coastal ecology specialist at Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, said he sees balloons and other plastic debris in the decaying carcasses of pelicans and other birds. Shorebirds can get entangled. In the ocean, turtles mistake them for jellyfish and eat them.