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On May 13, USDA-APHIS proposed lifting the restrictions on the interstate movement of Berberis thunbergii varieties ‘Della’ and ‘O’ Byrne’ and Mahonia x media variety ‘Lionel Fortescue’. These three varieties were thoroughly evaluated by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service at the Cereal Disease Laboratory in St. Paul, MN and found to be resistant to Black Stem Rust (Puccinia graminis).

Filed under: disease • regulation • transportation • USDA

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The Oregon legislature appears poised to pass a measure allowing anyone residing in the state – regardless of legal immigration status – to obtain a drivers’ permit. The bill, strongly supported by the business community, is seen as a public safety measure in that it would help address concerns over unlicensed and uninsured drivers. Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, expressed confidence that the measure will pass, and will be signed into law by the Governor.

Filed under: legislation • transportation

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Joe Bischoff, Craig Regelbrugge

ANLA and sixteen of our Lighthouse Program partner state associations signed onto a letter to Congress supporting H.R. 612, the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA). The letter was delivered to the offices of Congressmen Reid Ribble (R-WI) and Mike Michaud (D-ME), two co-sponsors of the bill, both of whom are on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The National Potato Council, an ANLA partner on the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, drafted the original letter, which was focused on the transportation of fruits and vegetables. However, at the suggestion of ANLA, the letter was edited to reflect the interests of the nursery industry, as well.

Filed under: transportation • 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 Senate yielded to the House of Representatives and passed a bill on March 29 to temporarily extend federal surface transportation funding for 90 days. Failure to approve the measure would have put 130,000 federal highway projects at risk. The Senate had earlier passed a two-year, $109 billion highway reauthorization, but House Republicans were unable to unite around a long-term highway bill. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are said to be negotiating a process to seek agreement on a longer-term transportation funding bill.

Filed under: legislation • transportation