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Author: Gregg Robertson

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Gregg Robertson

Gregg Robertson, Landscape Management's government relations blogger, is a government relations consultant for the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association (PLNA) and president of Conewago Ventures. From 2002 until May 2013 he served as president of PLNA. Reach him at gregg.robertson@conewagoventures.com.

Government Affairs: What’s all the fuss over 2,4-D and dicamba?

The herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba have been around for a long time. Both have been go-to herbicides in the fight against weeds, both in production agriculture and landscape maintenance. But their growing use by production agriculture is causing concern due to the tendency of both 2,4-D and dicamba to volatilize and cause collateral damage to […]

Government Affairs: Things look grim for H-2B, but there is hope

On Dec. 21, not three months after the start of the federal fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had reached the six-month cap of 33,000 visas for the H-2B guest-worker visa program used by many landscape contractors as a part of their labor force. An additional 33,000 visas will be […]

Government Affairs: How the new tax legislation may affect your tax bill

  Fulfilling his promise to give Americans “an incredible Christmas gift,” President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill on Dec. 22. What this tax bill will mean to you and your company may take some help from your tax adviser. While one of the goals at the outset for this tax reform bill was […]

Government Affairs: Will the federal tax bill help your business?

  As I am writing this blog, the U.S. Senate is debating its version of a tax bill that could dramatically change the country, from the way that our businesses operate to how we make personal decisions about where to live. When the Senate’s version of the tax bill passes it will go to a […]

Government Affairs: Is the spotted lanternfly a threat to outdoor living?

In September 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) received a call from a company near Reading, Pa. Employees had found a strange bug at the back of their property in a tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) grove. When the PDA inspectors arrived at the company, they saw gray-winged bugs about an inch long, covering […]

Government Affairs: Congress moves ever so slightly toward a better understanding of industry labor issues

  Last month, I spent two days in Washington D.C. with about a hundred green industry company owners and state and national association staffers to push forward the industry’s agenda with Congress. The effort was organized by AmericanHort, a national association that represents nursery and greenhouse growers, landscape contractors and garden centers across the county. […]

Government Affairs: What to do if ICE knocks at your door

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new I-9 form on July 17. With raids and inspections by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arm of DHS ramping up, be sure you are using the most current edition of the I-9 form. Overall enforcement actions by ICE are increasing in line with President Trump’s […]

Government Affairs: Will Congress beat Trump to the punch in rescinding WOTUS?

Congress and President Trump seem to be in a race to rescind the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation issued by the Obama administration. The WOTUS regulation was a joint effort by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to clarify the definition of water bodies that would come […]

Government Affairs: Update on Federal actions affecting landscape contractors

  With all the talk in Washington about health care bills and the Russia investigation, it’s easy to lose sight of more mundane but nonetheless important issues directly affecting the landscape contracting industry. Here is an update on what is happening with two important issues. Federal Overtime Rule The new federal overtime rule, that would […]

Government Affairs: Will Trump increase H-2B visas?

In late April, Congress passed an appropriations bill to fund the federal government through the federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Contained in that bill was language that provided the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to double the number of H-2B visas available, from 66,000 to 129,000, if the secretary found that there […]

Government Affairs: Congressional budget deal contains some H-2B relief

  A compromise bill to fund the federal government and avoid a government shutdown contains some relief for those companies that use the H-2B guest worker program. Late Sunday night, April 30, Congressional negotiators reached a deal to fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30. The bill implementing the […]

Government Affairs: The federal overtime rule is not dead yet

  Like that macabre but disturbingly funny scene in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the federal overtime rule is “not dead yet.” The new federal overtime rule, that would have doubled the mandatory salary at which employees must be paid overtime, was grievously wounded when a Texas Federal judge issued a temporary injunction halting […]

Government Affairs: Get ready for the labor shortage coming

  As the Trump Administration moves into its second month, it’s becoming clear that the administration’s policies are going to create labor shortages in the landscape contracting industry this summer. While some (including me) thought Trump might not implement some of the more draconian policies he espoused during the campaign, he is demonstrating that his […]

Government Affairs: Trump’s first few weeks

  We are a few weeks into the Trump administration, and we’re getting a glimpse of how this presidency might impact (or not) the landscape contracting industry in three major areas: immigration reform, guest-worker programs and regulations. Immigration Reform It’s clear comprehensive immigration reform (like the bill that passed the Senate but stalled in the […]

Government Affairs: New federal pesticide certification rules are final

The pesticide applicator certification regulations the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working on for well over a year, are now final and have been published in the Federal Register. These regulations are the last of several regulatory packages affecting landscape professionals pushed through the regulatory process in the last two years of the […]

Industry Pulse: President-elect Trump

A look at how the new administration could affect the landscape industry. Despite the predictions of pollsters and pundits to the contrary, Donald Trump upset Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. Not only did Trump win the presidency, but the Republicans held majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. This gives Trump […]

Government Affairs: Last gasp for H-2B returning-worker exemption?

Congress has one last chance to extend the H-2B returning-worker provisions in the waning days of this session of Congress. The returning-worker provision that was included last year as part of the budget process expired at the close of the federal fiscal year Sept. 30. The returning-worker provision exempts workers who were granted visas in […]

Government Affairs: What impact will the Trump presidency have on the landscape industry

Despite the predictions of pollsters and pundits to the contrary, Donald Trump engineered a stunning upset of Hillary Clinton in this week’s presidential election. Not only did Trump win the presidency, but the Republicans held their majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. This gives Trump the possibility of having his legislative […]

Government Affairs: The presidential election’s effects on our workforce

In my July Landscape Management blog post, I looked at where the two then-presumptive presidential candidates stood on immigration issues, specifically comprehensive immigration reform and the H-2B guest-worker program. Now that both candidates have been officially nominated by their respective parties, let’s look a bit deeper into how each candidate’s policies might affect the overall workforce […]

Government Affairs: The quiet battle in state legislatures that could affect your business

There has been a quiet battle raging in state legislatures for the past several years, the outcome of which could affect landscape contractors. The battle lines are drawn between the manufacturers of agricultural, construction and landscape equipment and their dealers. The background Much like the auto industry, equipment manufacturers such as John Deere, IH Case, […]

Immigration Issues: Better off with Trump or Clinton?

  Now that the two presumptive presidential candidates have been chosen, which candidate will be more likely to fix the broken immigration system and seasonal guest-worker programs, like H-2B? To look at this question we’ll need to separate comprehensive immigration reform from the guest-worker programs that the green industry relies upon. Let’s take immigration reform […]

Government Affairs: Review job classifications before DOL overtime rule implementation

The federal Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that new regulations governing overtime will go into effect on Dec. 1. These new regulations could ratchet up your labor costs and make federal audits of your payroll records even more expensive. The new regulations will raise the salary limit for mandatory […]

Government Affairs: Last chance to extend H-2B reforms?

H-2B Workforce Coalition and our national associations, AmericanHort and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), are calling for a fly-in to Washington D.C. May 18 in attempt to persuade Congress to extend the recent hard-won reforms to the H-2B guest worker program. These reforms, signed in to law by President Obama only last December, […]

Government Affairs: Maryland poised to become first state to ban consumer use of neonics

In March, both houses of the Maryland legislature passed a bill to ban consumer use of neonicotinoids (neonics). As of this writing, the bill sits on Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk awaiting his signature. Gov. Hogan, a Republican, has not indicated whether he will sign the bill. Individuals permitted under the bill to use neonicotinoid-containing […]

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