Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2541

Introduced by Assembly Member begin delete Achadjian end delete begin insert Hall end insert

February 21, 2014

begin delete An act to amend Section 53036 of the Government Code, relating to coastal property. end delete begin insert An act to add Section 6546.14 to the Government Code, relating to transportation. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2541, as amended, begin delete Achadjian end delete   begin insert Hall end insert . begin delete Local agencies: real property transfers. end delete begin insert Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority. end insert

begin insert

Existing law authorizes the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, a joint powers agency, to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of designing and constructing a consolidated transportation corridor to improve highway or rail access to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, with debt service on the bonds to be paid from various sources, including railroad or truck use fees.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the authority to adopt and publish a tariff under which a use fee for movement of cargo on the Alameda Corridor rail system is imposed on users, defined to mean any person, company, or other entity that is named as the shipper or consignee on the ocean carrier bill of lading for export or import cargo or various other persons or entities, as specified. The bill would require the authority to contract with an independent 3rd-party collection agency to collect the use fee. The bill would require the tariff to include certain provisions for its enforcement in case of delinquency, including refusal of service and a lien on cargo, and would also require the tariff to include a prohibition against payment, waiver, advancement, or absorbtion of the use fee by any ocean common carrier or railroad operator on behalf of a user. The bill would require a user to waive any damages or other claims as a result of enforcement of the tariff, and would provide that the only remedy in case of error would be the waiver or refund of the use fee applicable to the cargo. The bill would require railroad operators operating on the corridor to provide the authority with certain information about a user’s cargo. The bill would enact other related provisions. By requiring the authority to take various actions, the bill would thereby impose a state-mandated local program.

end insert begin insert

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end insert begin insert

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

end insert begin delete

Existing law prohibits a local agency from selling real property owned by it and lying between the high water line of the Pacific Ocean and a public street or highway without reserving the public’s right of access to the ocean over that property, as specified.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that requirement.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority Corridor Use Fee
Act.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 6546.14 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 6546.14. end insert   

(a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:

(1) “ACTA” means the Alameda Corridor Transportation
Authority.

(2) “Tariff” means the schedule of use fees adopted by the ACTA
and published on its Internet Web site or otherwise.

(3) “Use fee” means a fee applicable to the transportation on
the Alameda Corridor rail system of any cargo, including, but not
limited to, containers, vehicles, bulk cargo, break-bulk cargo,
general cargo, heavy lift cargo, and other special cargo.

(4) “User,” with respect to cargo subject to the use fee, means
any of the following:

(A) Any person, company, or other entity that is named as the
shipper or consignee on the ocean common carrier bill of lading
issued for export or import cargo, or any person owning or entitled
to the possession of the export or import cargo or having a past
or future interest in that cargo.

(B) In the case of negotiable bills of lading, any other person,
company, or other entity that is a bona fide holder of the bill of
lading or who is entitled to receive delivery of export or import
cargo.

(C) Any other bailor of export or import cargo.

(b) (1) The ACTA shall contract with an independent third-party
collection agency to collect the use fee from users.

(2) The ACTA shall adopt and publish a tariff that requires all
users to pay the use fee to the independent third-party collection
agency prior to the cargo entering the Alameda Corridor rail
system, unless credit arrangements are agreed to by the
independent third-party collection agency. All users, with respect
to a particular unit of cargo, shall be jointly and severably liable
for the payment of the use fee.

(3) The ACTA shall include in the tariff a prohibition that
ensures that the use fee is not paid, waived, advanced, or absorbed
by any ocean common carrier, as that term is defined in the federal
Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. Sec. 40101 and following), as
amended, or by any railroad operator that operates on the Alameda
Corridor rail system.

(4) The ACTA shall include in the tariff the terms of enforcement
of the tariff, including, but not limited to, a provision that requires
a railroad operator that operates on the Alameda Corridor rail
system to refuse service to a user that is delinquent in paying the
use fee and a provision that imposes a lien on the cargo of a user
that is delinquent in paying the use fee. Refusing service to a user
shall include a prohibition on the user’s cargo leaving the facilities
of the railroad operator.

(5) The ACTA shall include in the tariff a requirement for a
user to waive any direct, indirect, or consequential damages, with
respect to the ACTA, the independent third-party collection agency,
the applicable railroad operator, and the applicable ocean common
carrier, that may be suffered by a user as a result of the refusal of
service or enforcement of any lien related to imposition to the use
fee and any delinquency by the user in its payment. The tariff shall
also include a requirement for a user to waive any direct, indirect,
or consequential damages for any other claim relating to or arising
out of the terms of the tariff or a contract relevant to the use fee.
If service is refused to a user, or a lien is enforced against any of
the user’s cargo, and it is subsequently determined that the refusal
of service or enforcement of the lien was mistaken, unlawful, or
otherwise improper, the sole and exclusive remedy of the user shall
be the waiver or refund of the use fee otherwise applicable to the
cargo.

(6) Railroad operators operating on the Alameda Corridor rail
system shall independently provide the ACTA with information
about a user’s cargo for the purposes of collecting the use fee and
enforcing the terms of the tariff in order to collect the use fee.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

Notwithstanding Section 16 of Article IV of the
California Constitution, the Legislature hereby finds and declares
that due to a situation unique to the area served by the Alameda
Corridor Transportation Authority, a general statute cannot be
made applicable to the area in question and it is therefore
necessary to enact a special statute.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert begin insert

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 53036 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

53036.  

(a) A local agency as defined in Section 54951 shall
not sell, lease, or otherwise transfer real property owned by it and
positioned between the high water line of the Pacific Ocean and
the public street or highway nearest the Pacific Ocean without
reserving to the public the right of access over that real property,
unless the local agency or its grantee shall make available to the
public an alternate route which, in the judgment of the local agency,
gives equal or greater public access to the Pacific Ocean in the
same immediate vicinity.

(b) Any public access right or rights identified or provided
pursuant to this section shall be expressly described in any
document effecting the sale, lease, or transfer of that real property.

end delete