Legislative Update

As I am writing this article, the North Carolina General Assembly just passed our state’s $30 Billion Budget for fiscal year 2023-2024. This has been an excessively long session for the NC General Assembly. North Carolina is one of only eleven states that does not set a limit on the length of time general assembly sessions can last.

If you’re wondering about the status of SB 318, the Native Plant Act, there has been little or no discussion on this topic since early spring. Although the bill never made it to the House floor for a vote, it was added to the state budget proposal and subsequently approved. Fortunately, we followed the guidance of our lobbyist, Dick Carlton, to work with Sen. Bill Rabon, the bill’s main sponsor, to make some compromises, rather than opposing the bill entirely. The original bill mandated that “native” plants be used on all stateowned and state-leased property, also requiring that such plants had to be native to North Carolina and that all leaves of such plants had to be green. During the summer of 2022, we invited Sen. Rabon to the JC Raulston Arboretum to discuss options, including not making it an all-native bill. With the help of North Carolina State University, the JC Raulston Arboretum, the North Carolina Farm Bureau, and nursery growers and landscape contractors from across the state, we were able to reach reasonable compromises. The amended bill, passed in the FY23-24 budget, states that native plants are only required on North Carolina Department of Transportation projects. As well, the definition of “native” was expanded to include plants native to the Southeastern United States, and the leaf color no longer must be green.

On another note, the legislative committee is excited to announce that the NC General Assembly included $350,000 in the FY23-24 budget for a new study on the economic impact of the nursery and landscape industry to our state’s economy. The NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will complete the study. NCDA is the same organization that conducted the most recent economic impact study of the landscape industry in 2007.

On a final note, we are excited to announce that NCNLA has reinstated our political action committee (PAC). The purpose of the PAC is to influence legislation that is beneficial to our industry and support candidates who share our goals and interests. However, for our PAC to be successful, we need your help. You can send personal donations to the NCNLA office at 968 Trinity Road, Raleigh, NC 27607, and you can make a donation on a personal credit card by emailing Kathryn Stansbury at kstansbury@ncnla.com to set up an invoice and payment link. The more donations we receive without needing a fundraiser, the lower our costs will be. Our goal is to raise $50,000 within the next year, which, with the generosity of our industry leaders, is a very achievable goal. We will continue to face occasional obstacles in Raleigh, and we must be prepared to fight for the industry that feeds our families.

Matt Hunter NCNLA Legislative Committee Chair

Matt Hunter, Chair

New Garden Landscaping & Nursery

Greensboro, NC

Charles Allen Green Biz Nursery and Landscaping

Fayetteville, NC

Kevin Cagle

Greenthumb Nursery

Seagrove, NC

Jim Freeman

Freeman Landscape

Wilmington, NC

Debbie Hamrick

North Carolina Farm Bureau

Raleigh, NC

Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson Landscaping

Statesville, NC

Eric Jones

Turf Teacher Inc.

Pfafftown, NC

Terry Kallam

Triangle Chemical Co.

Wilson, NC

Ariel Montanez

Pender Nursery

Garner, NC

Nate Negrin

SouthernEEZ Landscaping

Charlotte, NC

Barry Partlo

Agri Supply

Garner, NC

James Powers

Beauty Lawn Inc. and Lawn Scenarios

Cary, NC

Ed Snyder Greenleaf Services

Linville, NC

Gary Whitehurst

Worthington Farms

Greenville, NC

Mark Yelanich

Metrolina Greenhouses

Huntersville, NC

Dick Carlton, Lobbyist

Law Office of Richard H. Carlton PLLC

Raleigh, NC

Kathryn Stansbury, Staff Liaison

NCNLA

Rick Lawhun, Ad Hoc Member

NCNLA

If you would like to make a donation to the NCNLA-PAC, please do so via the form on the following page. »