If at First you Don’t Succeed: Congress Reintroduces the Clean Ports Act
In 2007, the Port of Los Angeles responded to area concerns surrounding a port expansion by beginning its Clean Trucks Program. The Board of Harbor Commissioners, which runs the Port, devised a standard-form “concession agreement” between the Port and the drayage companies
performing their services at the Port.
On June 13, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that federal law preempts the Port of Los Angeles’s parking and placard requirement. In laying out the rationale for this decision, Justice Elena Kagan argued that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act preempts the Port’s actions. The 1994 law bars local and state governments from enacting or enforcing any “law, regulation, or provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier.”
Now, Congress is again considering picking up where the Supreme Court and state officials in California left off. The Clean Ports Act, introduced by Representative Jerrold Nadler, (D/10-NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The legislation would change federal law permitting ports to enact measures like requiring a motor carrier to use off street parking or mandate the display of a sign containing a phone number for individuals to call in the event there is an incident with a truck.
Representative Nadler introduced H.R. 2958 the Clean Ports Act of 2013 which has garnered 22 cosponsors while on the Senate side, Senator Gillibrand’s S. 1435 with the same name has received the support of one cosponsor.
