Advocacy Archives - Page 2 of 5 - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

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Advocacy

Farm Bill Defeated in House

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 […]

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H-2B Relief Still an Unknown

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 […]

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Congress to Take Up Farm Bill

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:

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Another Blow to the Workforce

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 […]

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Trump Supports H-2B During Weekend Rally

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 […]

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Kentucky Legislature Overturns Governors Tax Veto

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 […]

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FARM Bill Introduced in House

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 […]

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President Signs Omnibus Bill that Includes H-2B Cap-Relief Language

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 […]

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California Judge Bans Commonly Used Pesticides

Last week’s Advocate noted the injunction issued by a federal judge in California that temporarily halted the state from designating the popular herbicide glyphosate as cancer-causing.  This week, a state judge issued a ruling saying the state must stop using a wide variety of pesticides:

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Fireworks at Massachusetts Public Hearing

Last Thursday, NALP was present at a public hearing held by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources as the agency began the process of renewing local electric utility Eversource’s five-year Vegetative Management Plan for rights-of-way maintenance.  [from here link to blog post with the following text:] Under Massachusetts regulations, the public is invited to submit […]

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