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In a decision with a few surprise twists, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision voted to uphold the signature legislative accomplishment of the 111th Congress and President Obama’s first term. Both parties are now scrambling to take the messaging high ground, and House Republicans plan another vote on a full repeal bill the week after July 4. Now that the Court has ruled, are you wondering what’s next? ANLA expert tax and horticultural law consultant John Satagaj has prepared a detailed special report. The report has been produced as an exclusive benefit of ANLA membership.

The full report is available in the right hand column of this screen under "additional resources"

Filed under: legislation

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Larry Smith, general manager of Lurvey Landscape Supply of Des Plaines, Illinois, testified on June 25 before a Congressional committee field hearing looking into the impact of high fuel prices and price uncertainty on small business job creation. The opportunity came when House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access chairman Joe Walsh (R-IL) invited the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) to provide a green industry witness. Smith, in his testimony, described how fuel surcharges...

Filed under: legislation • transportation

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The Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that the authority to enforce immigration laws rests squarely with the federal government, limiting the role that states may play in crafting state-level answers to immigration enforcement. Immigration law experts see this as a serious blow to the “attrition by enforcement” strategy that has been pursued by several states, including Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah. By a 5-3 margin (Justice Kagan had recused herself), the Court struck down three of the four provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 that were challenged by the Obama administration as preempted under federal law. While the Court agreed that Arizona’s attempt to limit immigration by creating new laws...

Filed under: immigration • legislation

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On June 21st the U.S. Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, commonly referred to as the 2012 Farm Bill, by a vote of 64-35. We are now waiting to see what the U.S. House will do and hope to see the House Agriculture Committee release its mark in the next week or two. Once we know where the House stands in regards to funding levels and priorities a clearer picture of the funding support for specialty crops, over the next 5 years, will come into focus. What we know now are the funding levels the Senate version...

Filed under: Farm Bill • legislation