Posted by:

In response to growing concern over hostile administration of the H-2B program by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security, a House Small Business subcommittee held a hearing on June 12 to look into the growing regulatory and legal chaos affecting program users. The hearing, presided over by Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), mostly spotlighted reliance on the program by seasonal resorts, and challenges these businesses face trying to use the only legal seasonal labor safety net available to many employers. H-2B is also extremely important for the landscape contracting and services industry. Rep. Rice, in a blog post published in The Hill, made the case for why H-2B is important in industries with peak season hiring needs.

Filed under: immigration • H-2B • legislation

Posted by:

It’s a classic good news/bad news story. With the Senate into Week Two of considering a broad immigration overhaul bill that is good for the green industry, several hundred green industry professionals have already sent messages to their Senators urging support for S.744. That’s the good news. The bad news is, that number should be in the thousands!

There is still time, but not much. If you want to have a say in the outcome, do it now. Visit the ANLA/Lighthouse Program’s Legislative Action center, where you can send personalized messages to your Senators in just a few clicks.

Filed under: immigration • H-2A • H-2B • legislation

Posted by:

IR-4 is asking nursery and floriculture growers to participate in a brief survey to help identify the highest pest, disease and weed priorities for the next two years. IR-4 is a federally funded project with efforts dedicated to supporting the specialty crops industry through pursuing research to facilitate the approval of new chemical treatments for our crops. Their work is vital to our industry’s access to chemistries that would not otherwise be available for nursery and floriculture production.

Filed under: IR-4  • IR-4  • research

Posted by:

If you import plant material for research, trialing, or under post-entry quarantine, you should familiarize yourself with the new Controlled Import Permit (“CIP”) regulations issued by USDA-APHIS. The CIP permit replaces the old departmental permits and also encompasses Post Entry Quarantine (PEQ) agreements. The new CIP regulations went into effect on June 3, 2013.

Filed under: USDA • regulation

Posted by:

Employers waiting for years in a legislative desert for some needed rain in the form of immigration reform and workforce solutions are one small step closer to relief. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted 82 to 15 on a procedural motion to move to consider S.744, the immigration bill. The process of considering amendments to the bill is expected to continue through the month of June.

Filed under: immigration • legislation