NALP has hired Andrew Bray to serve as the association’s new Vice President of Government Relations, effective July 9th. Andrew is a driven professional and a tireless policy advocate with over 15 years of legislative, regulatory, campaign and legal experience. Most recently Andrew has served as the Vice President of Public Policy at the National […]
As previously announced, USCIS began accepting H-2B petitions on May 31, 2018, under the temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit, or cap, on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 15,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2018. In the first five business days of filing, USCIS received petitions for more beneficiaries than […]
NALP is closely monitoring House negotiations related to immigration and the status of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides legal status to so-called dreamers, kids who were brought to the United States illegally as children. House Republican leaders have been meeting with competing factions within the party in an effort to […]
Recently, the twenty-eight member states of the European Union voted to ban all outdoor uses of neonicotinoid insecticides, expanding upon a ban initially put into place in 2013. While this ban is only in effect in some areas overseas, it is possible you may receive questions as a result. NALP is committed to educating landscape professionals, customers and the general public about […]
Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”) by a vote of ( 198 – 213). An odd coalition of all House Democrats and 30 members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus led to the defeat. Democrats opposed revisions to the federal […]
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security transmitted a proposed H-2B related rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review. This is an important first step in our quest for H-2B cap-relief. However, the nature of the rule has still not been made public. We are working with our Champions of Capitol Hill […]
This week, the House will begin debating H.R. 2, more commonly known as the Farm Bill. The measure is an important opportunity for landscape professionals to gain greater certainty in regulatory decisions related to pesticide use. The House Bill contains language that:
Seasonal employers suffered yet another blow to the already scarce labor pool last week when President Trump announced that he is ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans. TPS had been in place for the Honduras since Hurricane Mitch devastated the country in 1998. There are an estimated 57,000 Hondurans with temporary protected status in […]
At a weekend rally in Washington Michigan, President Trump made comments in support of the H-2B guest worker program. The occasion marked the first time that he has made public comments about H-2B since becoming President. It is unknown how this will impact the timeline for 2018 cap-relief. In March, Congress granted Department of Homeland […]
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 […]