8007-S AMH LIIA THOR 211

SSJM 8007 - H AMD 456

By Representative Liias

NOT CONSIDERED

    On page 1, after line 7, strike all material through "revenues." on page 2, line 13, and insert the following:

    "WHEREAS, The federal harbor maintenance tax is not collected when cargo travels to Canadian ports and is then shipped to the United States via rail or roads; and

    WHEREAS, This noncollection of the harbor maintenance tax is an incentive to divert cargo away from United States ports; and

    WHEREAS, The federal maritime commission inquiry into the harbor maintenance tax found that up to half of United States bound containers coming into Canada's west coast ports could revert to using United States west coast ports if a fee equivalent to the harbor maintenance tax was imposed at the border on United States bound containers; and

    WHEREAS, Current United States law does not require the revenues raised through the harbor maintenance tax to be fully spent on harbor maintenance related investments; and

    WHEREAS, The geography of harbor maintenance tax expenditures does not correlate with the states where harbor maintenance revenues are generated; and

    WHEREAS, The balance of the harbor maintenance trust fund has grown to over seven billion dollars;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that:

    (1) Congress pass and the president sign legislation imposing a fee equivalent to the harbor maintenance tax on United States bound cargo when it crosses the Canadian border; and

    (2) Such cargo fees and harbor maintenance tax proceeds be made available for freight mobility infrastructure improvements."

EFFECT:

· Changes the petitioning statement that the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) is not collected on trans-pacific cargo shipped to the United States via rail or roads to state that the HMT is not collected when cargo travels to Canadian ports and is then shipped to the US via rail or roads.  

· Changes the petitioning statement that shippers could revert from using Canadian west coast ports to using US west coast ports if US importers were relieved from the HMT to state that shippers could revert from using Canadian west coast ports to using US west coast ports if a fee equivalent to the HMT was imposed at the border on US bound containers.

· Removes the requesting statements and replaces them with a request for legislation imposing a fee equivalent to the HMT on US bound cargo when it crosses the Canadian border and making the proceeds available for freight mobility infrastructure improvements.  

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