California container tax bill back in Assembly
The California Container Tax bill is back.
Senate Bill 974, which had been shelved last September, is back in the California Assembly. The bill calls for a $30 fee on each 20-foot unit on every cargo container going through the ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland.
The added costs to consumers in Hawaii would total approximately $68 million, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii said Friday. If the bill passes, Hawaii could see new fees over $100 million to ship goods to and from the state once other fees take effect in October.
It has been estimated that 80 percent of goods consumed in Hawaii are shipped here by sea in containers that pass through California ports free credit report without a credit card. Hawaii officials and business leaders campaigned aggressively against the measure last year.
The bill will go soon to the Assembly for a vote. If passed, it will be sent to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has indicated he intends to sign the bill into law, the chamber said. The new fees are to help pay for anti-pollution efforts at the ports, where surrounding communities say they are choked by fumes from trucks, trains and container ships.
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