Welcome to the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA) Online

TNLA is a trade association representing all segments of the Green Industry in Texas. Members are growers, landscape contractors, retail nursery, and allied green industry businesses. Email TNLA

Back to top of page

Back to top of page

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey Announces Higher Civil Fines Against Employers for Immigration Violations U.S. Department of Justice

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 -- Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey today announced higher civil fines against employers who violate federal immigration laws. The announcement was made in a joint briefing today with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff about newly enacted border security reforms put in place by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Under the new rule, which was approved by Attorney General Mukasey and Secretary Chertoff, civil fines will increase by as much as $5,000. The new rule will take effect on March 27, 2008, and will be published in the Federal Register early next week.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, employers who violate employment eligibility requirements are subject to civil monetary penalties. Employers may be fined under the Act for knowingly employing unauthorized aliens or for other violations, including failure to comply with the requirements relating to employment eligibility verification forms, wrongful discrimination against job applicants or employees on the basis of nationality or citizenship, and immigration-related document fraud. For each of these violations, the employer has the right to a hearing before an administrative law judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Under the new rule and applicable law, civil penalties for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act are adjusted for inflation. Because these penalties were last adjusted in 1999, the average adjustment is approximately 25 percent. Under the specific rounding mechanism of the law, the minimum penalty for knowing employment of an unauthorized alien increases by $100, from $275 to $375. Some of the higher civil penalties are increased by $1,000; for example, the maximum penalty for a first violation increases from $2,200 to $3,200. The biggest increase under the rounding mechanism raises the maximum civil penalty for multiple violations from the current $11,000 to $16,000. These penalties are assessed on a per-alien basis; thus, if an employer knowingly employed, or continued to employ, five unauthorized aliens, that could result in five fines.

Today's announcement follows a series of reforms, announced by the Administration in August 2007, to be made within the boundaries of existing law to secure our borders, improve interior and worksite enforcement, and improve the current immigration system. In addition to the higher civil penalties, measures announced and discussed at today's briefing included expanded prosecutions and removals of criminal aliens, a streamlining of existing guest worker programs, and the Southwest Border Enforcement Initiative.

The Southwest Border Enforcement Initiative includes a $100 million request in new Justice Department funding for FY 2009 for new hiring and resources to better enable the United States to combat the flow of illegal immigration, drugs, and weapons across the Southwest Border, and to arrest, detain, prosecute, and incarcerate violent criminals, drug offenders, and immigration violators along the Southwest Border. More information on this funding request can be found at
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/January/08_opa_079.html and
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/January/08_opa_080.html.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

Back to top of page

TNLA Publications These entities are representing themselves as “the official publications of TNLA, formerly TAN-MISSLARK” or similar language. These are fraudulent claims - do not respond! TNLA Green Magazine the TNLA Membership Directory and the Expo Program are the only print publications related to TNLA. Please check with TNLA before signing any document claiming to be related to the Nursery/Landscape Expo or any TNLA publication.

Back to top of page

Irrigation Rules - In response to House Bill (HB) 3, HB 1656, and Senate Bill 3, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) proposed changes to the Landscape Irrigation (Chapter 344) and Licensing (Chapter 30) rules. Public hearings on the proposed rule changes were held on February 26, 2008. The TCEQ staff proposal will be published on at: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/agendas/comm/comm_agendas.html after the documents are filed on May 16, 2008. The staff proposal will be considered at the June 4, 2008 commission agenda. The Chapter 30 rulemaking was effective on June 26, 2008. The Chapter 344 rules will be effective on January 1, 2009.

Back to top of page

Pink Hibiscus Mealybugs
Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) collected 20 suspect mealybug samples from approximately two square miles surrounding a Pearland home. Of these 20 samples, six were confirmed as the pink hibiscus mealybug. TDA will initiate a similar survey around a southwest Houston home where the other mealy bug was detected to determine the extent of infestation.
Once infestation is determined, inspectors will control the pest using a biological method – parasitic wasps. Research has shown these parasitic insects are the best method to control mealybugs, resulting in a 90 percent success rate. The tiny wasps will only attack the mealybugs, not humans or pets.

Treatment for mealybugs should avoid using insecticides, as they are usually ineffective and could harm beneficial insects. Instead prune off the most heavily infested plant parts, place in sealed bags and dispose in garbage.

For more information about mealybugs and the Houston treatment see the following:

East Texas Nursery & Greenhouse IPM Program

Article in TNLA Green magazine

Back to top of page

Crazy Ant Treatment
The ant has become a serious nuisance in parts of Houston, where its infestation was calculated at approximately 50 million ants per acre in early June. This Caribbean invader is responsible for causing electrical shortages in homes and businesses throughout the Houston area.

Termidor SC, manufactured by BASF, may be applied following all directions, restrictions and precautions on the EPA registered product label, as well as restrictions within the exemption notice. The crisis exemption is effective June 30 and will remain in effect until EPA makes a decision on the Section 18 specific exemption TDA will submit.

Only certified and licensed applicators or persons under the direct supervision of licensed applicators can apply Termidor SC to infected areas in the following Texas counties: Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery and Wharton.

For more information, contact your county Texas AgriLife Extension Service office or TDA at (512) 463-7544. A copy of the approval notice is located on the TDA Web site at www.tda.state.tx.us.

Back to top of page

State of the State
At least 50 percent of Texas is suffering from drought conditions, with much of the state in extreme or exceptional drought.

The U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint product of the National Weather Service, the Agriculture Department and the National Drought Mitigation Center, has designated parts of south-central Texas, from San Antonio west to Columbus, as “D4” – a category reserved for drought so severe it only occurs less than 2 percent of the time at any given location.

A “D3” area, corresponding to only a 2-5 percent frequency of occurrence, now stretches from Del Rio in West Texas to Bryan and Galveston, and down the coast to the U.S.-Mexico border. Another “D3” area covers El Paso and surrounding areas of New Mexico. An additional fragment of D3 and D4 is in extreme northwest Texas.

Based on preliminary National Weather Service rainfall estimates, the South Texas region is on track to have its driest October-June period ever, since records began in 1895. In south-central Texas, early summer conditions rival the worst drought years ever, in 1917 and 1971.

Source: John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas State Climatologist and a professor of meteorology at Texas A&M University.

Back to top of page

Chili thrips
An inspection of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston revealed chilli thrips or signs
of chilli thrips damage at each bed. Inspection of a bed of Knock Out roses a couple of miles away from the Medical Center also found chilli thrips. Scott Ludwig of Texas AgriLife Extension is updating a homeowner information fact sheet on chilli thrips to include the latest efficacy results from the work he is conducting with USDA-APHIS. He is also working on management recommendations for professional landscapers. This information will be available at http://chillithrips.tamu.edu/. Dr. Ludwig will address this topic during a session at the the educational lounge at the Nursery/Landscape Expo.

Back to top of page

Grassroots Forum - Texas Employers for Immigration Reform (TEIR) will hold a Grassroots Business Leader Summit August 25th, from 10 AM – 3 PM at the Dallas Marriott Las Colinas (223 West Las Colinas Boulevard Irving, Texas 75039). Register online to attend. Please take the opportunity to come learn what you can do to help pass a comprehensive approach to our labor situation in our country and learn what you can do to protect our businesses in the Texas State Legislature next January. To learn more about the event, click here.
  
Jim Reaves
Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs