Spotlight - Legislation

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California – container fee bill vetoed

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed the bill (S.B. 974) that would have imposed a fee of $30 per TEU on marine containers processed in the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland. In his

veto message, he states that the bill does not provide assurances that projects funded by the fee will achieve the stated goals and it does not adequately provide the San Joaquin Valley with access to funds to reduce environmental impacts. (9/30/08).

California – legislation signed re spill response and pilotage

The Office of the Governor of California issued a

press release stating that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law various bills to enhance oil spill prevention and response and to increase the oversight and accountability of state pilots. Among the bills are S.B. 1739 that requires oil spill response organizations to demonstrate deployment of response resources and S.B. 1627 that moves the Board of Pilot Commissioners under the oversight of the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency. (9/29/08).

California – veto of various oil spill response bills

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a

veto of the bill (S.B. 1056) that would have established response standards for response to an oil spill in certain California waters. He issued a second veto of a bill (A.B. 2032) that would have increased the per barrel fee on oil delivered to a marine terminal from the current five cents to eight cents. He issued a third veto of a bill (A.B. 2547) that would have established a new grant program to evaluate new oil spill response technologies. (9/29/08).

Bill introduced to establish container fee

Representative Richardson (D-CA) introduced the Making Opportunities Via Efficient and More Effective National Transportation Act of 2008, or the

MOVEMENT Act of 2008 (H.R. 7002) to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and collect a national container fee and to use amounts collected from the fee to make grants for infrastructure projects at United States seaports and in surrounding areas to improve the movement of goods, enhance transportation security, and mitigate environmental damage caused by the movement of goods. This bill, if enacted, would establish a fee of $25 per TEU on imported containers, to be paid by the beneficial cargo owner. (9/23/08).

Massachusetts – rescue tug in Buzzards Bay

The Governor of Massachusetts signed into law a measure that provides for tank vessels carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil within Buzzards Bay to be accompanied by a rescue tug with a licensed state pilot on board the rescue tug, unless the tank vessel is accompanied by a tugboat escort. The expense of this new measure will be funded by a fee of an additional three cents for each barrel of petroleum product delivered to a marine terminal within the state by means of a vessel from a point of origin outside the state. The only new obligation placed on the owners and operators of tank vessels carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil is to notify the state at least 24 hours prior to arrival in Buzzards Bay if unaccompanied by a tugboat escort. It is unclear what impact this new measure will have on the long-running dispute between the state and the US Coast Guard regarding authority over tank vessels operating on navigable waters within the state. The disputed provisions are left intact, but rendered somewhat duplicative.

Senate No. 2374 (8/6/08).

Bill introduced re siting of LNG import facilities

Senator Snowe (R-ME) introduced the

Liquefied Natural Gas Import Terminal Authorization Act (S. 3441) to provide certain requirements for the siting, construction, expansion, and operation of liquefied natural gas import terminals, and for other purposes. If enacted into law, the bill would require new LNG facilities to obtain the approval of both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the state in which the facility is to be sited. (8/1/08).

Bill introduced re shipping investment withdrawal rules

Senator Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the

American Shipping Reinvestment Act of 2008 (S. 3359) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the shipping investment withdrawal rules in section 955 and to provide an incentive to reinvest foreign shipping earnings in the United States. (7/29/08).

China’s Antimonopoly Law

Holland & Knight LLP issued a

Client Alert advising that, after 13 years of drafting, China’s Antimonopoly Law (AML) came into effect on August 1, 2008. The AML applies to monopolistic conduct, whether in China or elsewhere, that eliminates or restricts competition in China’s domestic market. The AML regulates three types of private conduct: (1) monopoly agreements; (2) abuse of dominant market position; and (3) business concentrations. The language of the legislation is both broad and vague. Carriers, shippers, and others doing business in China should plan accordingly. (7/31/08).

Bill introduced to exempt some mariners from TWIC requirement

Senator Coleman (R-MN) introduced the

Small Marine Business and Fishing Guide Relief Act of 2008 (S. 3377) to amend title 46, United States Code, to waive the biometric transportation security card requirement for certain small business merchant mariners, and for other purposes. This bill, if enacted into law, would exempt from the requirement for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) merchant mariners serving on vessels the owner or operator of which is not required to submit a vessel security plan. (7/31/08).

Bills introduced re Northwest Straits Marine Conservation

Senator Murray (D-WA) and Representative Larsen (D-WA) introduced companion bills (

S. 3373 and H.R. 6746 respectively) to reauthorize and expand the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Act to promote the protection of the resources of the Northwest Straits, and for other purposes. The previous legislation (Pub.L. 105-384, Title IV) established a citizens’ advisory committee to assist in coordination of marine resource conservation measures in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. (7/31/08).