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A significant tax reform measure that contains a new 6% sales tax on 17 services including landscaping and snow removal was approved late last week when the Kentucky legislature overrode the veto of Governor Bevin. The outcome was the end of a series of questionable governance actions executed by Kentucky legislative leaders in pursuit of […]
Congressional hearings last week offered the first opportunity for members of Congress to seek answers regarding how quickly the administration is likely to act on their authority to authorize additional H-2B visas. Both the Senate and House held Appropriation Subcommittee meetings that featured testimony from the two Secretaries with jurisdictional oversight of the H-2B program. […]
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee introduced the text of H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”). Introduction of the measure was initially expected in February, however House Democrats expressed concern over reforms to the current federal food stamp program and the bill was held back by the […]
Last week, President Trump signed into law the 2018 Omnibus budget bill. Included in that measure was language that COULD provide substantive cap-relief for this year. We say could because the language agreed to by Congress is the same language that they settled upon last year; the cap-relief language grants discretion to the Secretary of […]
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security added insult to injury when they unexpectedly announced that they had secretly conducted a lottery to determine which H-2B applicants would receive their workers. This unprecedented move is devastating and adds further confusion to what is already an extremely problematic situation.
Last week, many NALP members received devastating news. They were informed by the Department of Labor that they would not receive the H-2B workers they were counting on. This year, due to an unprecedented volume of applications, over 60% of seasonal businesses were unsuccessful in getting workers through the H-2B program. The pending seasonal labor […]
In part, due to pressure from NALP and other industry stakeholders the EPA has granted a 60-day extension to the current neonicotinoid benefits assessment open comment period. Comments must now be submitted by April 21, 2018. This additional time will allow landscape professionals to more fully respond to the content and approach reflected in the EPA’s […]
Last week, a group of NALP leaders and other stakeholders met with senior staff at DHS to stress the critical need for H-2B cap relief. The meeting was the latest step in a continuing dialogue that NALP has established with key administrative personnel to call for short term cap relief as well as a permanent […]
Already this year, there have been several noteworthy developments related to WOTUS and revisions that are being made under the current administration. There are a lot of moving parts and understanding where things stand can get confusing. Recently, NALP consultant David Crow of DCLRS provided a breakdown of where things stand that provides significant clarity […]
Small businesses and self-employed individuals may soon have more options for obtaining affordable group health coverage. As directed by Executive Order 13813, on January 5, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released proposed regulations (83 Fed. Reg. 614) intended to increase the availability of association health plans (AHPs). The proposed regulations would achieve that aim by broadening […]