FROM THE HILL
ADVOCACY, GRASSROOTS, AND YOU W
Paul Mendelsohn NALP Vice President of Government Affairs
ant to know one of the best ways you can help the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) advance the interests of our profession? It’s simple. Get involved in our state and local advocacy efforts. When people think about an organization’s
government advocacy focus, they think about Con- gress, the President and national issues. However, there is a reason that former House Speaker Tip O’Neill loved to use the phrase “all politics is local.” Most of the decisions that can have a significant impact on your personal pocketbook, your busi- ness’ bottom line, and our professional communi- ty’s interests occur within the nation’s statehouses and city halls. To understand the level of activity in the nation’s statehouses, consider this: the California legisla- ture will introduce more than 6,000 bills in a typical two-year session. Arizona legislators will introduce close to 908 bills in its 90-day session and during its six- month session, the tiny state of Rhode Island typically introduces more than 2,500 bills. Often times the target of these bills are landscape pro- fessionals and the services that you provide. Already this year, at the state level we have seen proposals in- troduced that would restrict or ban the use of neonico- tinoids; that would further regulate the application of fertilizers; and that would create onerous rules related to landscaping activities near water. Some of these proposals border on the ridiculous, like in California where legislation has been introduced to incentivize the removal of natural turf by offering a tax credit to offset
28 THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL > MARCH/APRIL 2016
the cost of removing a grass lawn and replacing it with artificial turf. Similar measures are also being introduced with a growing frequency at the local level nationwide.
In many instances, lawmakers introduce leg- islation or ordinances to appease constituents, to address activists’ concerns, or to simply quiet their neighbor who keeps bugging them about a perceived problem. Unfortunately, in such instanc- es political office holders are only hearing one side of the story. This is where you come in. To counter the often-faulty claims made in support of attempts to pass laws that are detrimental to land- scape professionals, we need you to help personal- ize the issue. Your stories, issue expertise, and local community involvement are all tremendous assets that significantly increase our chances for success. So how can you get involved in this process? Simple: join our growing army of grassroots advo- cates. At the local level we need you to help be our eyes and ears. If a hearing is scheduled to consider an ordinance that would impact landscape profes- sionals, let NALP know right away. That way, if you want to be personally involved, you can be sent talking points and other support materials to help make sure your message is on point. By contacting the association, it will also better enable NALP to get the word out to other members so that there can be a strong local presence representing the
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