SB 925, as introduced, Wright. Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
2Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority Corridor Use Fee Act.
Section 6546.14 is added to the Government Code, to
4read:
(a) As used in this section, the following terms have
6the following meanings:
7(1) “ACTA” means the Alameda Corridor Transportation
8Authority.
9(2) “Tariff” means the schedule of use fees adopted by the
10ACTA and published on its Internet Web site or otherwise.
11(3) “Use fee” means a fee applicable to the transportation on
12the Alameda Corridor rail system of any cargo, including, but not
13limited to, containers, vehicles, bulk cargo, break-bulk cargo,
14general cargo, heavy lift cargo, and other special cargo.
15(4) “User,” with respect to cargo subject to the
use fee, means
16any of the following:
17(A) Any person, company, or other entity that is named as the
18shipper or consignee on the ocean common carrier bill of lading
19issued for export or import cargo, or any person owning or entitled
20to the possession of the export or import cargo or having a past or
21future interest in that cargo.
22(B) In the case of negotiable bills of lading, any other person,
23company, or other entity that is a bona fide holder of the bill of
P3 1lading or who is entitled to receive delivery of export or import
2cargo.
3(C) Any other bailor of export or import cargo.
4(b) (1) The ACTA shall contract with an independent third-party
5collection agency to collect the use fee from users.
6(2) The ACTA shall adopt and publish a tariff that requires all
7users to pay the use fee to the independent third-party collection
8agency prior to the cargo entering the Alameda Corridor rail
9system, unless credit arrangements are agreed to by the independent
10third-party collection agency. All users, with respect to a particular
11unit of cargo, shall be jointly and severably liable for the payment
12of the use fee.
13(3) The ACTA shall include in the tariff a prohibition that
14ensures that the use fee is not paid, waived, advanced, or absorbed
15by any ocean common carrier, as that term is defined in the federal
16Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. Sec. 40101 and following), as
17amended, or by any railroad operator that operates on the Alameda
18Corridor rail system.
19(4) The ACTA shall include in the tariff the terms of
20enforcement of the tariff, including, but not limited to, a
provision
21that requires a railroad operator that operates on the Alameda
22Corridor rail system to refuse service to a user that is delinquent
23in paying the use fee and a provision that imposes a lien on the
24cargo of a user that is delinquent in paying the use fee. Refusing
25service to a user shall include a prohibition on the user’s cargo
26leaving the facilities of the railroad operator.
27(5) The ACTA shall include in the tariff a requirement for a
28user to waive any direct, indirect, or consequential damages, with
29respect to the ACTA, the independent third-party collection agency,
30the applicable railroad operator, and the applicable ocean common
31carrier, that may be suffered by a user as a result of the refusal of
32service or enforcement of any lien related to imposition to the use
33fee and any delinquency by the user in its payment. The tariff shall
34also include a requirement for a user to waive any direct, indirect,
35or consequential damages for any
other claim relating to or arising
36out of the terms of the tariff or a contract relevant to the use fee.
37If service is refused to a user, or a lien is enforced against any of
38the user’s cargo, and it is subsequently determined that the refusal
39of service or enforcement of the lien was mistaken, unlawful, or
40otherwise improper, the sole and exclusive remedy of the user
P4 1shall be the waiver or refund of the use fee otherwise applicable
2to the cargo.
3(6) Railroad operators operating on the Alameda Corridor rail
4system shall independently provide the ACTA with information
5about a user’s cargo for the purposes of collecting the use fee and
6enforcing the terms of the tariff in order to collect the use fee.
Notwithstanding Section 16 of Article IV of the
8California Constitution, the Legislature hereby finds and declares
9that due to a situation unique to the area served by the Alameda
10Corridor Transportation Authority, a general statute cannot be
11made applicable to the area in question and it is therefore necessary
12to enact a special statute.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
14this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
15local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
16pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
174 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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