Leaders in Advocacy

For over 75 years, WSNLA has been protecting and advocating for the nursery and landscape industry in Olympia and DC. WSNLA members unite their voices as an industry to ensure unnecessary regulations, fair business conditions, and industry professionalism is understood.  With strength in numbers, WSNLA is dedicated to working for your business.

The WSNLA member community includes large and small growers, garden centers, landscape professionals and suppliers. With our diverse membership in mind, It is the intent of WSNLA advocacy to ensure legislative activities focus in on overarching WSNLA member needs, while effectively balancing the diversity in business scale and location.

This is how we keep you informed by:

• Legislative & regulatory emails that provide updates and alerts.
• Legislative webinars that provide an opportunity to learn about the issues impacting your business, tell your story, and provide feedback.
• Legislative Day in Olympia is an opportunity to deliver messaging on key issues, educate and meet directly with legislators.
• As an AmericanHort Legislative Lighthouse Program Partner, WSNLA member's voice is heard nationally, and receives regular updates on issues.
  
  

WSNLA Advocates For Your Business

WSNLA Lobbyist, Jesse Taylor, is a respected and effective lobbyist in Olympia. As our watchdog in Olympia, Taylor is successful in communicating and advocating on behalf of the nursery and landscape industry here in Washington State.  

Because of WSNLA Advocacy efforts:

• Covid-19 Restrictions
  Nurseries and some sectors of the landscape industry remained opened, with advocacy for those that were not. Ongoing messaging to keep businesses informed during a time of evolving business regulations. 

  
  

• Drought Declarations
  Nursery & landscape businesses are a respected stakeholder considered & included in public messaging during drought declarations.
  
  

• Native Seed Bill  
  
  

• Open Space Taxation
  Existing open space property tax law was clarified to ensure that commercial nurseries growing plants in containers are treated the same as other agriculture and that the law is implemented consistently in all counties.
  
  
• Landscape Architect Bill
  Landscape designer’s and landscape contractor’s scope of work was protected from being severely narrowed.
  
  
• Corporate Officers & Unemployment Benefits
  Corporate officers who earn less than 25% of base year wages from the corporation are eligible for unemployment benefits.

While WSNLA’s advocacy efforts have achieved successes through the years... Today, we continue to keep the dialog open, bringing members and state legislators face to face to discuss pertinent issues and partner with like-minded organizations to encourage regulatory and legislative decisions that make good business sense and help our members prosper. We also work alongside regulators, especially at the Washington Department of Agriculture, to ensure a smooth and productive working relationship.