FROM THE HILL


NALP on the Road During Busy State Legislative Cycle


THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR CONTINUES TO BE THE MOST active time for NALP’s advocacy efforts at the state level. This is primarily because, unlike Congress, many/most state legislatures convene for a condensed amount of time, typically between three and six months. 2023 was no different than years past, and from January to April, NALP tracked nearly 500 bills that could directly impact the industry.


By Andrew Bray Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Membership


Written on April 3, 2023


This year we’ve seen a myriad of bills that could impact the industry. But the areas where NALP was the most active in 2023 have been defending pesticide preemption at the state level and working against arbitrary equipment bans. Protecting pesticide preemp-


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tion is critical to the landscape industry. Without state preemp- tion, localities can regulate the sale and use of pesticides and, at this level of government, fear and emotion trump science, facts and rationale. Currently, 44 states have preemption. Of the six that don’t, only Maryland and Maine have had localities pursue local pesticide bans that have been very harmful to the landscape industry. Unfortunately, there is a trou-


bling trend for other states to fol- low Maryland and Maine’s lead and attempt to let localities regulate the sale and use of pesticides. Within the last two years, attempts have been made to roll back preemption in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minne- sota and New York. As of writing this article, the


threats in Colorado and Minne- sota are very serious. NALP has been taking a very active role in engaging our members in those respective states, assisting in lobbying efforts and providing grassroots and testimony support. In February, NALP joined our part- ners at the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) to lobby the Colorado legislature with our collective lawn and landscape member companies. With regard to equipment bans, we have had a successful legislative


36 The Edge //May/June 2023


cycle. Attempts were made to ban the sale or use of gas-powered landscape equipment (at the state level) in the following states in 2023: Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wiscon- sin. As of this writing, it appears all statewide attempts have failed. We credit much of this success to working closely with state landscape associations and also our partnership with the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA). Over the past six months, NALP has conducted workshops in Maryland, New Jersey and New York where landscape professionals and policymakers have attended presentations and demonstrations on making the transition to electric equipment responsibly while high- lighting ongoing impediments. We credit our success in those three states to this proactive approach. In both Georgia and Texas,


efforts are underway to preempt localities from regulating the use of gas-powered equipment. Because of attempts to ban gas-powered equipment in Atlanta and Dallas,


landscape professionals went on the offensive. Remember earlier when talking about pesticide preemption, fighting bans on pesti- cides or equipment is very difficult at the local level. We are grateful for the efforts of the Georgia Urban Ag Council and the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association for their leadership in these efforts. Advocacy at the state and local


levels has continued to be a top priority for NALP. The government relations department has grown from two to four employees in the last several years to increase the breadth and scope of how we can advocate for the landscape industry. A big part of our efforts in- cludes traveling to where the issues are occurring and communicating and working with members, allied state associations and policymakers on behalf of the landscape indus- try. This year alone, NALP has been to the following areas: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. We look forward to continuing


this increased activity in the com- ing months and years. If you would like to have NALP come to your area to work on advocacy, please contact Andrew Bray andrew@ landscapeprofessionals.org. TE


NALP and ALCC with members in the Capital Building in Denver to lobbying in support of maintaining pesticide preemption.


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