The class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids or “neonics” that include imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran are currently undergoing Registration Review with the EPA.

Golf course superintendents have until Oct. 6, 2017, to use existing stocks of Nemacur, an organophosphate-class chemical, which is used to control root-knot, root-lesion, sting, lance and ring nematodes.

Carolinas GCSA Executive Director Tim Kreger was part of a select roundtable that met recently with Federal EPA Chief Scott Pruitt and other high-ranking officials in South Carolina.

Seventeen new members were named to the GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador program for the Summer 2017 class.

Employers, including golf courses, across the country continue to be confused about their obligations to their seasonal employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador Rory Van Poucke has made great strides when it comes to engaging his assigned federal policymaker Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011, representing Arizona's 4th congressional district. Gosar serves as the chairman of the Western Congressional Caucus.

A look at the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) fly-in to Washington, D.C. and an update on where GCSAA's priority issues stand in Congress.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Labor announced July 17 that it will release an additional 15,000 visas this week for H-2B employers with start dates prior to Oct. 1, 2017.

In late June, the DOL dropped its defense of the Obama administration's overtime rule, but indicated it will defend the agency's right to set a salary threshold on who qualifies for overtime pay in the future.

The EPA has released drafts of its human health and ecological risk assessments of 2,4-D as part of its ongoing registration review process.

The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers released their joint proposal on June 27 to rescind the 2015 Clean Water Rule (i.e., “WOTUS rule”). Following the repeal of the rule, a replacement will be promulgated. GCSAA applauds this first step in the WOTUS rule repeal and replace effort and looks forward to working with EPA and Corps officials to help redefine what a “water of the United States” is under the Clean Water Act to help provide regulatory certainty to golf facilities.

GCSAA is working with multiple industry stakeholders on an urgent pesticide regulation related issue, and your help is needed. Currently, the EPA is evaluating whether to further restrict pyrethroid use for professionals. Inappropriate regulations can significantly impact your lives and livelihood, and GCSAA needs you to voice your concerns by July 7 to help the EPA better understand the important role that pyrethroids serve in your ability to provide your services and protect the public.

Ask the average Joe if he's heard of the H-2B visa program or ever met a seasonal guest worker, and he’ll probably say no. Ask a member of Congress how he or she feels about expanding the number of H-2B visas available to small businesses each year, and they may be opposed, but they would be in the minority.

On April 19, members of FWD.us, a lobbying group focused on immigration reform, and the Colorado Business Roundtable hosted a roundtable discussion with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) on the campus of the University of Denver.

On May 11, Bob Helland, director of congressional and federal affairs, attended a congressional hearing before the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee entitled “Pesticide Registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act: Providing Stakeholders with Certainty through the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act”. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss reauthorization of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA).

On April 6, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) and Crop Life America (CLA) conducted a roundtable at their annual Spring Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C., called EPA Labels Live!. The discussion focused on the full life cycle of how pesticide labels make it from the lab, eventually to the end user.

The Trump administration and Congress have come to a compromise on the 11 spending bills needed to fund the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2017. In addition to funding domestic and defense priorities, the $1.163 trillion package also includes language providing a much-needed increase to the annual 66,000 H-2B cap.

GCSAA's Grassroots Ambassador Program continues to grow with the start of the Spring 2017 class this month. Below is the roster of our newest members, so please reach out to those you may know and congratulate them on their acceptance into GCSAA's grassroots advocacy program.

The American Association of Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO) held its annual spring meeting March 6-8 in Arlington, Va., and Chava McKeel, director of government affairs, represented GCSAA at the meeting. Key discussion topics included Zika virus and funding; state level implementation of Managed Pollinator Protection Plans; and the status of neonicotinoid bans and legislation across the country.