Below you'll find a clear, one-page comparison chart outlining current permissions for commercial and private applicators versus the new requirements under Ohio’s updated law. We strongly encourage you and your team to carefully review this chart to ensure you're fully prepared for these regulatory changes.

Should you have questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Rup Comparison Chart

The 2024 edition of the NCLC was nothing short of spectacular, with Ohio schools making a significant impact on the leaderboard. Let's delve into the impressive results from the Buckeye State:

Ohio Schools Stand Out

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) secured the second position overall in the competition. Their students showcased exceptional skills and determination, making their mark on the national stage.

Cincinnati State Technical College claimed the twelfth spot overall, demonstrating the depth of talent within Ohio's educational institutions.

Placing 20th overall, Columbus State Community College proved themselves among fierce competition, further solidifying Ohio's presence in the landscape and horticulture arena.

photo via Tri-C

Top Individual Achievements

Caleb Kautz from Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) emerged as the top individual performer among the 595 competing students, showcasing exceptional talent and expertise.

Destiny Griffiths, also from Tri-C, secured the fifth position overall and was the top female performer in the competition. Destiny is also an OGIA Scholarship recipient.

Celebrating Success

The remarkable achievements of Ohio schools and individual students at the 2024 National Collegiate Landscape Competition are a testament to the state's thriving landscape and horticulture education sector. Through rigorous training, dedication, and passion for their craft, these students have not only excelled but have also showcased the caliber of talent emerging from Ohio's educational institutions.

As we celebrate their successes, we also recognize the invaluable support provided by educators, mentors, and industry partners who have nurtured and guided these students on their journey to excellence. Their collective efforts have undoubtedly propelled Ohio to the forefront of the landscape and horticulture industry.

To view the full list of winners and celebrate the remarkable achievements of students and schools from across the nation, visit NCLC’s website.

On Thursday morning, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor released the pre-publication copy of the temporary final rule (TFR) relating to supplemental visas. The official version should be published in the Federal Register by Friday or early next week. This is a great win for the industry as this rule has never published in November and provides seasonal businesses with greater certainty than any previous year. Once our RWE language was stripped from FY 24 appropriations we remained very focused on urging the Administration to swiftly take this action.

The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Labor have authorized the release of 64,716 H-2B visas for FY 2024, subject to certain conditions. Temporary portability will also be provided through this tranche of visas. The visas are divided into three allocations: 20,716 for the first half of FY 2024, 19,000 for the early second half of FY 2024, and 5,000 for the late second half of FY 2024. The first half of FY 2024 requires employers to request employment start dates by March 31, 2024, and file petitions no earlier than 15 days after the second half cap is reached. Late second half of FY 2024 petitions must request employment start dates from May 15, 2024, to September 30, 2024, and must be filed 45 days after the second half statutory cap is reached.

20,000 visas are reserved for nationals of the Northern Countries plus a few more countries have been added to the list (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica), regardless of whether they are returning workers. Employers can file the first half petitions immediately after the publication of the TFR, and second half petitions 15 days after the cap is reached. To qualify for FY 2024 supplemental caps, petitioners must meet H-2B eligibility requirements, obtain an approved temporary labor certification (TLC), file Form I-129 with USCIS, submit an attestation affirming irreparable harm or impending harm, only employ returning workers, and prepare a detailed written statement demonstrating irreparable harm and supporting their application.

Employers filing an H-2B petition 30 or more days after the certified start date on the TLC must take additional steps to recruit U.S. workers. Petitioners filing H-2B petitions under the FY 2024 supplemental cap must retain documentation of compliance for three years from the date DOL approved the TLC. They must cooperate with compliance reviews and audits.

DHS will not approve H-2B petitions filed after October 1, 2024. DHS is providing additional flexibilities to H-2B petitioners, allowing nonimmigrant workers in valid H-2B status to begin work with a new employer after an H-2B petition is filed and before the petition is approved, for up to 60 days.

Since the cap has already been hit if you have already filed for a date of need between October 1st and 90 days from tomorrow you should be able to immediately begin the supplemental vias process, application and attestation. If you have a date of need past 90 days you should promptly file (think mid February to March) and you are likely in a very strong position to access the supplemental visas. For March filers I think there will be uncertainty on whether there will be any supplemental visas left.

Contact: Jan Suszkiw

Email: Jan.Suszkiw@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 15, 2023—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released a new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM), updating this valuable tool for gardeners and researchers for the first time since 2012. USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The new map—jointly developed by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Oregon State University's (OSU) PRISM Climate Group—is more accurate and contains greater detail than prior versions.

It is available online at https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/. In addition to the map updates, the Plant Hardiness Zone Map website was expanded in 2023 to include a “Tips for Growers” section, which provides information about USDA ARS research programs of interest to gardeners and others who grow and breed plants.

The 2023 map is based on 30-year averages of the lowest annual winter temperatures at specific locations, is divided into 10-degree Fahrenheit zones and further divided into 5-degree Fahrenheit half-zones. Like the 2012 map, the 2023 web version offers a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based interactive format and is specifically designed to be user-friendly. Notably, the 2023 map delivers to users several new, significant features and advances. The 2023 map incorporates data from 13,412 weather stations compared to the 7,983 that were used for the 2012 map.

Furthermore, the new map’s rendering for Alaska is now at a much more detailed resolution (down from a 6 ¼ -square-mile area of detail to a ¼ square mile). "These updates reflect our ongoing commitment to ensuring the Plant Hardiness Zone Map remains a premier source of information that gardeners, growers and researchers alike can use, whether they’re located in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico,” said ARS Administrator Dr. Simon Liu.

Approximately 80 million American gardeners and growers represent the most frequent users of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. However, they’re not the only ones with a need for this hardiness information. For example, the USDA Risk Management Agency refers to the map’s plant hardiness zone designations to set certain crop insurance standards. Additionally, scientists incorporate the plant hardiness zones as a data layer in many research models, such as those modeling the spread of exotic weeds and insects.

The 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map is now available as a premier source of information that gardeners, growers and researchers alike can use.

Plant hardiness zone designations represent what’s known as the “average annual extreme minimum temperature” at a given location during a particular time period (30 years, in this instance). Put another way, the designations do not reflect the coldest it has ever been or ever will be at a specific location, but simply the average lowest winter temperature for the location over a specified time. Low temperature during the winter is a crucial factor in the survival of plants at specific locations.

As with the 2012 map, the new version has 13 zones across the United States and its territories. Each zone is broken into half zones, designated as “A” and “B.” For example, zone 7 is divided into 7a and 7b half zones. When compared to the 2012 map, the 2023 version reveals that about half of the country shifted to the next warmer half zone, and the other half of the country remained in the same half zone.That shift to the next warmer half zone means those areas warmed somewhere in the range of 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit; however, some locations experienced warming in the range of 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit without moving to another half zone.

These national differences in zonal boundaries are mostly a result of incorporating temperature data from a more recent time period. The 2023 map includes data measured at weather stations from 1991 to 2020. Notably, the 2023 map for Alaska is “warmer” than the 2012 version. That’s mainly because the new map uses more data representing the state’s mountain regions where, during winter, warm air overlies cold air that settles into low-elevation valleys, creating warmer temperatures.

The annual extreme minimum temperature represents the coldest night of the year, which can be highly variable from year to year, depending on local weather patterns. Some changes in zonal boundaries are also the result of using increasingly sophisticated mapping methods and the inclusion of data from more weather stations.

Temperature updates to plant hardiness zones are not necessarily reflective of global climate change because of the highly variable nature of the extreme minimum temperature of the year, as well as the use of increasingly sophisticated mapping methods and the inclusion of data from more weather stations. Consequently, map developers involved in the project cautioned against attributing temperature updates made to some zones as reliable and accurate indicators of global climate change (which is usually based on trends in overall average temperatures recorded over long time periods).

Although a paper version of the 2023 map will not be available for purchase from the government, anyone may download the new map free of charge and print copies as needed.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (September 26, 2023) – An invasive insect has been spotted in the Dayton area for the first time.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has confirmed a box tree moth (BTM) sighting in Montgomery County. After first being found near the border of Hamilton and Clermont counties in June 2023, BTM has also been detected in Warren and Butler counties.

The box tree moth is an invasive pest from East Asia that poses a threat to boxwood plantings and the horticulture industry. Boxwood is an important ornamental shrub that is a valuable part of Ohio’s nursery stock economy. Federal and state officials are asking the public and horticultural businesses to spot and report the box tree moth using ODA's reporting tool.

ODA’s plant health inspectors and USDA staff will be placing traps and surveying the area to determine the extent of the population.

Residents can look for and report any signs of infestation by following these steps:

• Familiarize yourself with the insect’s appearance and signs of damage on boxwood shrubs.
• Check any boxwood plants you have for signs of box tree moth life stages.
• If you find any signs of infestation, take a picture, and report it.

Signs of feeding include chewed, cut, or missing leaves, yellowing or brown leaves, white webbing, and green-black excrement on or around the plant.

For additional information, please visit ODA's box tree moth page.

photo - USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the detection of the box tree moth (BTM) near the border of Hamilton and Clermont counties.

A local resident submitted a photo of the insect to the USDA earlier this month, resulting in trapping in the area. Several specimens captured were identified as the BTM.

The box tree moth is an invasive pest from East Asia that poses a threat to boxwood plantings and the horticulture industry. Boxwood is an important ornamental shrub that is a valuable part of Ohio’s nursery stock economy. Federal and state officials are asking the public and horticultural businesses to spot and report the BTM to the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) reporting tool.

ODA’s plant health inspectors and USDA staff will place additional traps and survey the area over the duration of the summer and fall to determine the source and extent of the population.

Residents can look for and report any signs of infestation by following these steps:

• Familiarize yourself with the insect’s appearance and signs of damage on boxwood shrubs.
• Check any boxwood plants you have for signs of box tree moth life stages.
• If you find any signs of infestation, take a picture, and report it.

Signs of feeding include chewed, cut, or missing leaves, yellowing or brown leaves, white webbing, and green-black excrement on or around the plant. Box tree moth caterpillars are green and yellow with white, yellow, and black stripes and black spots. Adult box tree moths have brown and white color forms and are nocturnal. The color form we have observed in Ohio has white, slightly iridescent wings, with an irregular thick brown border. The second adult color form is completely brown with a small white comma-shaped streak on the forewings. Males and females can show both colorations. Please report any BTM sightings to ODA’s Division of Plant Health.

OGIA continues to work with ODA on the merits of quarantine and a compliance program for our nursery members.

The quarantined area includes the entire counties of Lenawee and Washtenaw, the county of Monroe west of US-23 and north of River Raisin, and the county of Jackson south of 1-94 and east of US-127. Under the quarantine, the whole plant, plant parts, and nursery stock of the genus Buxus, including all living and dead material, cannot be moved outside of the quarantined area. Suspected BTM cases in Michigan can be reported online at www.Michigan.gov/ReportBTM

Box tree moth caterpillars are green and yellow with white, yellow, and black stripes and black spots. The caterpillars feed only on boxwood making them easy to spot. Adult box tree moth has two color forms. The most common form has white wings with dark brown borders, while the dark form has solid brown wings with a white streak or spot on each forewing. Both forms have a distinctive white dot or mark in the middle of each forewing. Box tree moth may not be easily recognized at the beginning of an infestation, because young caterpillars hide among twigs and leaves. Signs of infestation include chewed, cut, or missing leaves, yellowing or brown leaves, white webbing, and green-black excrement on or around the plant. Larvae skeletonize the leaves and feed on the undersides, causing defoliation and dryness and eventually leading to the plant’s death.

Residents with confirmed cases are advised to remove infested branches or, for heavy infestations, cut the boxwood from its base (it should grow back from its roots). All boxwood debris should be double bagged in plastic and discarded with household trash after confirming with the local municipality or trash vendor whether these materials can be collected. For more information, and a list of insecticides known to be effective against destructive caterpillars, go to www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/box-tree-moth.

Ohio Information

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has plans to conduct trapping in the northwest and northeast edges of the state with some other locations to the south. OGIA continues to work with ODA on the merits of quarantine and a compliance program for our nursery members.

What you can do:

• Check your boxwood plants for signs of box tree moth
• If you see signs of box tree moth, please take a photo and report suspects to ODA using this form
• If a new population is confirmed, you may be directed to remove infested branches or, for heavy infestations, cut the boxwood from its base (it should grow back from its roots). Discard all boxwood debris by double-bagging it in plastic and putting it with your household trash.

Cuyahoga Community College finished in the top spot at the 47th National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC), narrowly beating Brigham Young University. NCLC was held at Mississippi University this year.

Other Ohio schools and students also placed high in each competition.

Top 5 Schools Overall

1. Cuyahoga Community College
2. Brigham Young University
3. Mississippi State University
4. Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
5. Michigan State University

Top 5 Students Overall

1. Keith Rush - Cuyahoga Community College
2. Cody Bird – Alamance Community College
3. AJ McCoy – Columbus State Community College
4. Christian Schloegel – College of DuPage
5. Susie Stoepfel - Cuyahoga Community College
   

For full results, click here.

Seeks to hold employers to greater account for safety, health failures

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.

OSHA Regional Administrators and Area Office Directors now have the authority to cite certain types of violations as "instance-by-instance citations" for cases where the agency identifies "high-gravity" serious violations of OSHA standards specific to certain conditions where the language of the rule supports a citation for each instance of non-compliance. These conditions include lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, falls, trenching and for cases with other-than-serious violations specific to recordkeeping.

The change is intended to ensure OSHA personnel are applying the full authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act where increased citations are needed to discourage non-compliance. The new guidance covers enforcement activity in general industry, agriculture, maritime and construction industries, and becomes effective 60 days from Jan. 26, 2023. The current policy has been in place since 1990 and applies only to egregious willful citations.

In a second action, OSHA is reminding its Regional Administrators and Area Directors of their authority not to group violations, and instead cite them separately to more effectively encourage employers to comply with the intent of the OSH Act.

"Smart, impactful enforcement means using all the tools available to us when an employer ‘doesn’t get it’ and will respond to only additional deterrence in the form of increased citations and penalties," explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. "This is intended to be a targeted strategy for those employers who repeatedly choose to put profits before their employees’ safety, health and wellbeing. Employers who callously view injured or sickened workers simply as a cost of doing business will face more serious consequences."

These changes in enforcement guidance are important enforcement tools to help deter employers from disregarding their responsibilities to protect workers and ensure compliance with OSHA standards and regulations.

Existing guidance on instance-by-instance citations are outlined in the OSHA Field Operations Manual, and CPL 02-00-080, "Handling of Cases to be Proposed for Violation-by-Violation Penalties."

# # #

Rep. Baldridge had just begun his third term in the House. Prior to being elected as a state representative, he served four terms as Adams County Commissioner and two terms as a Wayne Township Trustee.

Mr. Baldridge operates his family's livestock and crop farm, Baldridge Farms, a seventh generation family farm.

"Brian knows the industry and is passionate about promoting Ohio agriculture," Mr. DeWine said in a statement. "He also shares my vision for making needed improvements to the Ohio State Fairgrounds."

viaOhioPLANT

The OhioPLANT Coalition successfully amended language into House Bill 507, sponsored by Rep. Kyle Koehler, that preempts local governments from banning or regulating the sale, purchase, storage, distribution, use, or application of a registered pesticide on private property and private property open to the public (golf courses). HB 507 was passed by the General Assembly in December and signed into law by Governor DeWine on January 6. It will take effect around April 6.

The need for this amendment was brought to OhioPLANT’s attention by one of its members, Ryan DeMay, President of the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, who informed OhioPLANT that an out of state environmental extremist group called Beyond Pesticide was lobbying a suburb of Columbus to ban pesticide on its property. Like many of these types of groups, Beyond Pesticide will lobby local governments to enact ordinances to carry out their agendas. In this case, Beyond Pesticide advocates that local governments adopt their model municipal resolution/ordinance to ban the use of pesticide on local government property, such as metro park ball fields or city buildings for example. However, it is their model resolution that, in addition to local government property, bans pesticide use on private property with an unworkable exception, along with the information from Ryan DeMay of their action in the Columbus suburb, that caused OhioPLANT to act. To protect its members and the public from being robbed of the use of pesticides, OhioPLANT drafted the preemption language and went to work in the summer.

OhioPLANT developed the legislative strategy to move the preemption language and identified HB 507 to be the vehicle for the amendment. Rep. Koehler supported our idea and language and graciously gave the green light to amend his HB 507, which had passed the House and was in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. OhioPLANT’s lobbyist met with the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, securing support for the amendment and of Senator Bob Peterson to carry the amendment in committee. Ohio Turfgrass Foundation lobbyists also spoke with members of the House and Senate about the importance of this issue.

The Senate Agriculture Committee amended the language into HB 507 and favorably voted the bill out on December 6 with the full Senate passing the bill the next day. After the House concurred with the changes to HB 507, it was sent to Governor DeWine. However, there were other amendments that had been added to the bill that caused doubt if Governor DeWine would sign the bill or possibly veto it. An oil and gas amendment had been added in committee and there was immense pressure from environmental groups, along with the press, to veto the bill. Groups also raised questions with the Governor’s office about the preemption language harming the environment and the Governor’s H2Ohio program.

OhioPLANT addressed the water quality issue with two memos to the Governor explaining why this was not an issue. Most importantly, OhioPLANT’s lobbyist called the Governor and texted his personal cell to tell him how important the preemption language was to our industries and that a veto of HB 507 because of the oil and gas amendment would harm other groups like OhioPLANT who were counting on HB 507’s passage. OhioPLANT’s lobbyist spoke to the Governor in person at an event on January 3, again reiterating the need for the preemption language to head off groups like Beyond Pesticide. Thankfully, Governor DeWine signed the bill into law later that week.

"This is a major win for our members and demonstrates the importance of OhioPLANT and how members bringing issues to light can result in legislative success," OhioPLANT Chairman, Don Sutton, said.

OhioPLANT thanks Rep. Koehler, Senator (now Representative) Bob Peterson, Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Sen. Tim Schaffer, the members of the Senate and House who voted for HB 507, and Governor DeWine.

State Plans

States that operate their own Occupational Safety and Health Plans are required to adopt maximum penalty levels that are at least as effective as Federal OSHA's. State Plans are not required to impose monetary penalties on state and local government employers.

For More Assistance

OSHA offers a variety of options for employers looking for compliance assistance.

The On-Site Consultation Program provides professional, high-quality, individualized assistance to small businesses at no cost.

OSHA also has compliance assistance specialists in most of our 85 Area Offices across the nation who provide robust outreach and education programs for employers and workers.

For more information, please contact the Regional or Area Office nearest you.

Ohio House and Senate

It was a historic election night for statehouse Republicans as the party is set for the most favorable margins they have had in decades when the 135th General Assembly begins in January.

In the House, the Republicans may have a 68-31 supermajority, a gain of four seats. The word “may” is important as Republican Ronald Beach has a small lead over incumbent Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) in the 5th District. One unexpected blow to House Democrats was the loss of Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton), the No. 2 Democrat in the House to Republican Challenger Jim Thomas.

The GOP in the Senate has a majority not seen since 1951 with the defeat of Democrat Sen. Tina Maharath of Canal Winchester by challenger Michele Reynolds. The GOP is poised to start the new General Assembly at the beginning of the new year with a 26-7 majority.

Statewide Offices

Gov. DeWine easily beat his Democrat opponent, Nan Whaley, the former mayor of Dayton, 63 percent to 37 percent.

Attorney General Dave Yost, State Auditor Keith Faber, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Treasurer Robert Sprague also won their reelection bids.

Ohio Supreme Court

Justice Sharon Kennedy won her election against her Democrat opponent to take over the Chief Justice seat from the retiring Chief Justice, Maureen O’Connor.

Republican Justices Pat Fisher and Pat DeWine, son of Gov. DeWine, both won reelection to their seats.

This was the first Supreme Court election where the candidates for justice had their party designation next to their names on the ballot.

State Issues

Issue 1, a proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution that requires judges to consider public safety when setting monetary bail, was approved by voters. Issue 2, the second proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution on the ballot was also approved by voters. It bars local governments from enabling non-citizens to vote in local elections.

U.S. Senate Republican JD Vance won his bid over Democrat Congressman Tim Ryan to replace retiring Senator Rob Portman.

U.S. House

Democrats picked up a House seat with Democrat Greg Landsman beating incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Cincinnati). Current State Representative Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) won her bid to fill the seat left open by Tim Ryan’s U.S. Senate bid.

Here are the results in the other U.S. House races

2nd District: U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Cincinnati) defeated Democrat Samantha Meadows

3rd District: U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Blacklick) defeated Republican Lee Stahley

4th District: U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) defeated Democrat Tamie Wilson

5th District: U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) defeated Democrat Craig Swartz

6th District: U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Marietta) defeated Democrat Lou Lyras

7th District: Republican Max Miller defeated Democrat Matthew Diemer for the seat currently held by the retiring U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ashland)

8th District: U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Troy) defeated Democrat Vanessa Enoch

10th District: U.S. Rep. Michael Turner (R-Dayton) defeated Democrat David Esrati

11th District: U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Cleveland) defeated Republican Eric Brewer

12th District: U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville) defeated Amy Rippel-Elton

14th District: U.S. Rep. David Joyce (R-Chagrin Falls) defeated Democrat Matt Kilboy

15th District: U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (R-Columbus) defeated Democrat Gary Josephson

Statehouse news

New Senator for Cleveland

Sandra Williams resigned her senate seat representing Cleveland to take a new position as director of government affairs for Charter Communications.  Dale Martin was chosen to replace her as the new state senator of the 21^st District.  He is a retired electrician.

State Pesticide Plan

ODA Plant Health has shared a summary of the US EPA comments to ODA’s state pesticide certification and training plan.  In 2017, US EPA finalized changes to its rules regarding the application and handling of restricted use pesticides.  As a result, this will require states with a US EPA approved plan to make changes to their state certification and training program.  You can find ODA’s summary document here.

ODA will be scheduling meetings with stakeholders in mid-August to discuss in more detail the changes US EPA will require. OGIA will of course be providing input and direction to ODA on behalf of our members.

Scioto Analysis conducted a cost-benefit analysis of urban tree canopy programs for Ohio municipalities.

SUMMARY

Cities across the country are adopting plans to expand their urban tree canopies, aiming to improve the aesthetics, safety, and health of their neighborhoods. Ohio is no exception to this trend, with the cities of Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland all adopting plans with quantified canopy commitments. Tree planting programs have been argued to be good for the environment, public health, and aesthetic beauty of communities that justify the cost of planting and pruning trees. In this cost-benefit analysis, this study estimates the specific economic benefits and costs a treeplanting campaign will generate for eight Ohio cities: Athens, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Findlay, Toledo, and Youngstown.

Overall, this study estimates that tree planting will cost Ohio communities $10.29 per tree, while economic present benefits from carbon sequestration, stormwater runoff prevented, air pollution reduced, energy saved, and crime reduced range from about $10-21 per tree depending on the city. The total net benefits of policy expanding canopy cover after discounting could be as much as $110 million for one city. Beyond the economic benefits, this study also finds that expanding canopy cover by just 10% could prevent as many as hundreds of crimes depending on the city, increase home value, and cause a variety of physical and mental health benefits.

Read the entire study here.

via Tony Seegers, Esq. - OPARR Lobbyist

Update on preemption of pesticides

OPARR is working to change the law and prevent, or preempt, local governments from regulating/banning the use, sale, purchase, storage, application of pesticides registered with ODA.

The plan is to amend our preemption language into a House bill, House Bill 507, that has passed the House and is currently being heard in the Senate Ag Committee.  Tony Seegers, OPARR Lobbyist, met with the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Kyle Koehler, and he agreed to allow our amendment to be added to his bill in the Senate.

OPARR has support from the Senate Ag Committee Chairman, Sen. Tim Schaffer, and has the support of the majority members on the committee.  Senator Bob Peterson, who is on the Senate Ag Committee, will carry our amendment in committee when the General Assembly returns this fall.  OPARR expects the bill to have one final hearing where our language will be added and then voted out of committee.  After that, OPARR will work to get it on the Senate floor, which should not be an issue.

New laws affecting businesses 

Tax treatment of the sale of a business

Before leaving for summer break to campaign, the General Assembly passed several bills including a tax bill that changes the way the sale of a business is treated for tax purposes.  HB 515 codifies two situations in which the sale of an ownership interest will be considered business income:

1. The sale is treated as a sale of assets for federal income tax purposes.

2. The seller materially participates in the activities of the business during the taxable year in which the interest was sold or during any of the five preceding taxable years. IRS rules for material participation generally consider the number of hours the taxpayer spent participating in the business, either on their own or in relation to other business participants.

From the bill’s analysis:

“When either of those two conditions exist, income from the sale will be considered business income. In the case on nonresidents, this means that a portion of the income will be taxable in Ohio, based on the proportion of the business’ activity that is apportioned to Ohio and subject to constitutional due process considerations. In the case of either residents or nonresidents, the income will be eligible for preferential treatment under the business income deduction and the 3% flat tax.”

You can read the bill here and the analysis here.

Exempting Overtime pay requirements

The General Assembly also passed changes to Ohio’s overtime laws.  SB 42 will go into effect July 6.  The bill subjects our overtime laws to the same exemptions from overtime that are found in the federal Portal to Portal Act of 1947.

From the bill’s analysis:

The act exempts an employer from Ohio’s requirement to pay overtime wages to an employee for any time the employee spends doing any of the following:

• Walking, riding, or traveling to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity or activities that the employee is employed to perform;
• Activities that are preliminary or postliminary to the principal activity or activities;
• Activities requiring insubstantial or insignificant periods of time beyond the employee’s scheduled working hours.

The exemption applies to any activity described above that occurs before the time on any particular workday that the employee commences the principal activity or after the time on any particular workday that employee stops performing the principal activity.

Some of the focus of proponent testimony in committee centered on the third bullet point because of many Ohioans are now working from home.  The bill will prevent employers from being liable for failing to pay overtime to an employee who, without direction from the employer, engages in de minimis time outside of the workday performing minor tasks like reading emails.

You can read the bill here and the analysis here.

State Legislature Primaries Moving Forward

After countless rounds in the Ohio Supreme Court and hearings in federal court, the state legislative district maps have been set and the primary elections for the state legislature, which had been scheduled for May 3, will now take place on August 2.

With the primaries for General Assembly being held at a later date due to challenges to the district maps in court, Ohioans voted in key primary races for the statewide offices and the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Rob Portman.

Here are the results.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Nan Whaley and her running mate, Cheryl Stephens will face Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted in the general election for governor this fall.

Democrat Primary

Republican Primary

US Senate

JD Vance will face Rep. Tim Ryan for the US Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Rob Portman this fall in the general election.

Democrat Primary

Republican Primary

Ohio Secretary of State

Current Ohio Sec. of State, Frank LaRose (R) will face Democrat challenger Chelsea Clark in the general election.

Ohio Attorney General

Incumbent AG Dave Rose (R) and current State Representative Jeffrey Crossman (D) will be the candidates this fall for Attorney General.

State Auditor

Republican Auditor Keith Faber will be challenged by Democrat candidate Taylor Sappington in the general election.

State Treasurer

Republican Treasurer Robert Sprague will face Democrat challenger Scott Schertzer for the office.

Breaking news, the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed the OSHA Vaccine mandate. This means that employers with 100 or more employees will not have to force employees to be vaccinated against COVID 19 or to implement testing at this time. OSHA had previously extended the deadline for employers to develop a compliant procedure by Jan. 10 and begin testing on Feb. 9. Employers, for now, will not have to do either.

Office of Legislative Affairs

For First Time, DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with Additional Visas in First Half of Fiscal Year

WASHINGTON —The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) today announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2022.  These visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31, 2022.

This supplemental cap marks the first time that DHS is making additional H-2B visas available in the first half of the fiscal year.  Earlier this year, USCIS received enough petitions for returning workers to reach the additional 22,000 H-2B visas made available under the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. 

The supplemental H-2B visa allocation consists of 13,500 visas available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years.  The remaining 6,500 visas, which are exempt from the returning worker requirement, are reserved for nationals of Haiti and the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

“At a time of record job growth, additional H-2B visas will help to fuel our Nation’s historic economic recovery,” said Secretary Mayorkas.  “DHS is taking action to protect American businesses and create opportunities that will expand lawful pathways to the United States for workers from the Northern Triangle countries and Haiti.  In the coming months, DHS will seek to implement policies that will make the H-2B program even more responsive to the needs of our economy, while protecting the rights of both U.S. and noncitizen workers.”

DHS intends to issue a separate notice of proposed rulemaking that will modernize and reform the H-2B program.  The proposed rule will incorporate program efficiencies and protect against the exploitation of H-2B workers.

SB 56, introduced by Sen. Louis Blessing, allows a public authority in a public improvement contract with a landscape architect to require the landscape architect to indemnify the public authority if there is a lawsuit for injury arising out of an injury or death from those services.  The indemnity would apply to any work, services, studies, planning, surveys, or preparatory work completed by the landscape architect.

The indemnity would only apply insofar as the landscape architect or any consultant, subcontractor, or other entity used was found to be liable pursuant to a lawsuit only for the proportionate share of the tortious conduct. In other words, if a person was injured in relation to a public improvement, that person sued the public authority that owned the improvement, and the landscape architect was found to be 10% at fault, then the design firm would be required to indemnify the public authority in question for 10% of the damages.

SB 56 prohibits the use of any indemnification agreement for professional design services that does not conform to the requirements and limitations in the bill.

“Public authority” means the state, a state institution of higher education, a county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision, or any public agency, authority, board, commission, instrumentality, or special purpose district of the state or of a political subdivision.

SB 56 passed the House Civil Justice Committee on Nov. 17 and is awaiting a House floor vote.

VACCINE MANDATES - Update

NOTE: This is not presenting a position on the use of vaccines or vaccine mandates.

UPDATE ON FEDERAL COVID VACCINE REQUIREMENTS

After several weeks of discussion, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) finally released its 490 page emergency rule mandating all employers with 100 or more employees ensure their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing (at the employers’ expense).  This was one of several vaccine mandates rolled out by the Biden Administration, with the others being for healthcare workers and federal contractors. 

OSHA’s proposed rule purportedly left the door open to apply the mandate to all employers at a later date.  However, the rule was stopped before it went into effect.  Employers and states filed lawsuits across the country against OSHA’s rule and on Nov. 12 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order staying the rule’s enforcement.  As a result of this ruling, OSHA suspended “activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS [the emergency rule] pending future developments in the litigation.” https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets2

What’s next?  Because of the multitude of lawsuits in the federal district courts across the country, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation conducted a lottery to determine which of the thirteen circuit courts would hear the consolidated cases, picking our very own U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (the Sixth Circuit covers Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee).  All of the challenges to the OSHA rule will be consolidated and heard before a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati.  Whether the Sixth Circuit reaffirms the stay by the Fifth Circuit or not, the case(s) will likely be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ohio Vaccine Mandate Update

Meanwhile, the Ohio House of Representatives are considering legislation to do the opposite of the OSHA proposal.  House Bill 435 was introduced to prohibit employers from requiring a vaccine.  It also prohibited the use of vaccine passports to deny entrance into a business or a building owned by the state or local government or service from a business or state or local government.  The bill failed to garner support and stalled in committee in mid October.

However, HB 435 has been reincarnated in a new bill, HB 218 .  Originally drafted to temporarily extend bar hours and exempt bars from a statewide curfew, that language was replaced with nearly identical language from HB 435 in the House Commerce and Labor Committee on Nov. 18 and passed by the committee and the House that same day.  It currently is being heard in the Senate General Government Budget Committee.  The bill has been roundly opposed by many business trade associations as an infringement on the internal management of employers. Others have said the bill does not go far enough to prohibit vaccine mandates in the workplace. It is unlikely that HB 218 will be passed by the Senate before the end of the year. 

HB 218 would prohibit an employer (defined as “any person who has one or more employees”) from requiring an employee to receive a vaccine that has not been issued a biologics license or granted full approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration.  For purposes of the bill, a biologic license issued by the FDA is not the same as an emergency use authorization issued for a vaccine.  For purposes of COVID, only Pfizer’s BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has been issued a biologic license, meaning that is the only COVID-19 vaccine an employer could require its employees to receive.  All the other COVID vaccines have only been issued an emergency use authorization and thus, cannot be required.

Under the bill, if an employer requires a COVID-19 vaccination that has been issued a biologic license, the employee may satisfy the employer’s vaccination requirement by either taking the vaccine or taking a COVID-19 vaccine available under an emergency use authorization.  HB 218 provides employees the ability to seek an exemption from the vaccine for:

·      Medical contraindications;

·      Natural immunity;

·      Reasons of conscience, including religious convictions.

HB 218 creates a cause of action for unlawful discriminatory employment practice if the employer violates the provisions of the bill summarized above.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above information, please contact Tony Seegers with 1803 Consulting | tony@1803consulting.com

On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued

an order staying the implementation and enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration’s (“OSHA”) Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). This order affirmed

the Fifth Circuit’s original November 6, 2021 order, which granted petitioners’ emergency

motion to stay the ETS pending briefing and expedited judicial review. After considering the

briefing submitted by the parties, the Fifth Circuit’s November 12, 2021 order leaves the

emergency stay in place “pending adequate judicial review of the petitioners’ underlying

motions for a permanent injunction.”

OSHA has officially suspended implementation of the vaccine mandate per the Fifth Circuit’s

stay of its enforcement. So, for the time being, employers with over 100 employees will need

not comply with the OSHA vaccine mandate.

Vaccine Legislation

For the past several months the House Health Committee heard vigorous debate on HB 248

that would have prohibited the use of vaccine status in employment, education, and business

services. While that bill made national headlines and became fodder for late night show

monologues when a proponent testified that the vaccines cause people to become magnetized,

the Speaker worked with Rep. Bill Seitz and Rep. Rick Carfagna on a new vaccine mandate

bill (HB 435) that would have, among other things, prohibited employers from requiring

employees to receive a vaccine unless approved by the US FDA.

However, House leadership was unable to garner support for HB 435 and the Speaker

announced in October that there would be no more action taken on vaccine bills. That is why

it came as a surprise to many on Capitol Square when on Nov. 18 the House Commerce and

Labor Committee gutted a bill temporarily extending bar hours of operation and exempting

them from statewide curfews, HB 218, and replaced its language with a modified version of

HB 435. The Committee passed the bill with the full House following suit the same day, 58-

32.

HB 218

For employers, the bill prohibits requiring employees to receive “any of the following utilizing

messenger ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid, or any other genetic vaccine technology and

for which the United States food and drug administration has not issued a biologics license or

otherwise granted full approval:

(a) A vaccine;

(b) A drug;

(c) A biological product;

(d) A form of genetic immunotherapy.”

For purposes of the bill, a biologic license or full approval by US FDA does not mean an

emergency use authorization granted by the FDA. This means that any vaccine that has been

issued only under the emergency use authorization cannot be required of employees. So far,

only Pfizer’s vaccine has been issued a biologic license and could be required by employers.

The bill also sets forth exemptions employees may claim to a vaccine requirement:

(a) Medical contraindications;

(b) Natural immunity;

(c) Reasons of personal conscience, including religious convictions.

A violation of the bill is an unlawful discriminatory practice and the employee can file a

complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

Redistricting

Congressional Districts

Last week, the General Assembly passed SB 258, which created a four year congressional

district map (see below). Governor DeWine signed the bill into law on Nov. 20. Legal

challenges to the new congressional map will be filed soon.

State Legislative Districts

The legal battle over the state legislative map drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission will

go before the Supreme Court of Ohio on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The court announced that it was

consolidating all three Supreme Court appeals, League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio

Redistricting Commission, et al., Bennett v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, et al., and Ohio

Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, et al. "for oral argument purposes

only."

Rep. Shane Wilkin Announces Run For State Senate

Second term Representative Shane Wilkin, (R-Hillsboro) announced his bid for the 17th Senate

District next year. The senate seat is currently held by Senator Bob Peterson (R-Washington

Court House), who is term limited.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above information, please contact Tony Seegers with 1803 Consulting | tony@1803consulting.com

Ohio Green Industry Businesses are encouraged to be involved with Ohio Native Plant Month and reap the benefits from this association. 

Get Noticed!

Ohio Native Plant Month has over 90 Ohio native plant growers listed on its website. If you grow or sell large numbers of native plants in Ohio and would like to be added to this list, contact OhioNativePlantMonth@gmail.com.

Be Counted!

The organization is tracking the number of native trees planted in Ohio in 2020 with a 100,000 Tree Challenge. Learn more here.

If you plant any native trees this year, use the “Contact Us” page on their website to let them know and your business will be added to their website as an organization helping to plant native trees in Ohio.

Sell More Native Trees!

Let your customers know that about the 100,000 Native Tree Challenge this year.  Encourage them to buy Ohio native trees then write to tell us the number they planted. 

Free Publicity!

The Ohio Native Plant Month website has free logos for you to use.to identify native plants in your businesses, promote native plant sales, or on your website showing you grow and support native plants. Download artwork here. 

• Loans can be used to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses, such as fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills
• Loan limit is $2 million
• Interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses
• Deadline to apply is December 21, 2020
• Download a printable fact sheet

To APPLY: Visit this website for more information and to apply online or call 1-800-659-2955.

Currently, there is no funding cap on how many businesses can receive loans, which means all of Ohio’s 950,000 eligible small businesses can apply.  Businesses whose applications are denied will be contacted within 48 hours for additional help.