Senate Bill No. 592

Introduced by Senator Price

February 22, 2013

An act to add Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 13996.85) to Part 4.7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to trade promotion, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 592, as introduced, Price. Trade promotion of California ports.

Existing law requires the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to provide to the Legislature, not later than February 1, 2014, a strategy for international trade and investment that, at a minimum, includes specified information, goals, objectives, and actions related to the promotion of trade.

This bill would require the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to provide to the Legislature, not later than April 1, 2014, a strategy for promoting trade for California ports that, at a minimum, includes specified information, objectives, goals, and recommendations. The bill would require that the strategy be submitted to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate, with copies provided to the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, and the chairs of specified legislative committees. The bill would also require the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to convene a statewide business partnership for promotion of trade for California ports, which would be required to advise the director on establishing that trade strategy, no later than February 1, 2014, as prescribed.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 13996.85)
is added to Part 4.7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, to read:

 

Chapter  2.6. Trade Promotion of California Ports

 

13996.85.  

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(a) International trade, which accounts for nearly 25 percent of
the state’s economy, relies on land ports of entry and the largest
seaport facilities in the United States to maintain California’s status
as a major gateway for products entering and leaving the United
States. This includes many goods moving through California ports,
such as industrial, technology, and postconsumer secondary
material originating in, or destined for other states.

(b) According to the California Marine and Intermodal
Transportation System Advisory Council, more than 40 percent
of the total containerized cargo entering the United States arrived
at California ports, and almost 30 percent of the nation’s exports
flowed through ports in the Golden State. Port activities employ
more than 500,000 people in California and generate an estimated
seven billion dollars ($7,000,000,000) in state and local taxes
annually. Nationwide, more than 2,000,000 jobs are linked to
California’s public ports.

(c) The state has a compelling interest in the success of its ports
because of the significant economic benefit to the state in terms
of jobs, personal income, business revenue, and taxes. Ports are
the vital interface between water and land transportation for trade
with the Pacific Rim countries and other trade.

(d) It is expected that, by 2014, Panama will have completed
the expansion of the Panama Canal, which may have a significant
impact on the flow of goods into the ports of California in coming
years.

(e) There is the potential for California ports to lose as much as
25 percent of their cargo business, by some estimates, after the
Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2014, siphoning off
millions of dollars from local economies and over 100,000 jobs.

(f) Due to the impending Panama Canal expansion and its
potential impact on local economies and jobs, it is clear that the
risk of crisis for our ports should be given high priority in
developing a strategy for international trade and investment.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature to resolve ongoing issues
concerning our ports and promote greater use of our existing ports
by directing the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic
Development to give California port utilization a high priority in
developing a strategy for international trade and investment for
the State of California.

13996.86.  

(a) The Director of the Governor’s Office of
Business and Economic Development shall provide to the
Legislature, not later than April 1, 2014, a strategy for promoting
trade for California ports that, at a minimum, includes all of the
following:

(1) Policy goals, objectives, and recommendations necessary
to implement a comprehensive plan for promoting trade for
California ports. This information shall be provided in a fashion
that clearly indicates priorities within the overall strategy.

(2) Measurable outcomes anticipated and timelines for the goals,
objectives, and actions to be taken for promoting trade for
California ports.

(3) Identification of impediments to achieving goals and
objectives.

(4) Identification of key stakeholder partnerships that will be
used in implementing the strategy.

(5) Identification of funding options for implementing
recommended actions.

(b) The strategy shall be submitted to the Chief Clerk of the
Assembly and the Secretary of Senate. A copy of the strategy shall
be provided to the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro
Tempore of the Senate, and the chairs of the Assembly Committee
on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy and the Senate
Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development,
or the successor committees with jurisdiction over international
trade and economic development programs.

13996.87.  

The director of the Governor’s Office of Business
and Economic Development shall convene a statewide business
partnership for promotion of trade for California ports, no later
than February 1, 2014, as follows:

(a) The business partnership shall include, but is not limited to,
representatives from ports of entry, ocean carriers, marine terminal
operators, warehouse operators, railroads, trucking companies,
labor representatives, and foreign trade zones, representatives of
environmental groups, and shippers, specifically including
agricultural exporters, manufacturers, postconsumer secondary
material handlers, and retailers.

(b) The business partnership shall advise the Director of the
Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development on
establishing the strategy for promoting trade for California ports
while increasing the use of California ports of entry, and ways to
increase the opportunity for growth and trade activity.

SEC. 2.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure that California has identified the impact that
the Panama Canal expansion may have on California ports and
trade-related jobs, infrastructure, and activity prior to the 2014
opening of a new shipping lane through the canal, and the state is
able to efficiently promote trade for California ports on a timely
basis, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.