Just hours after Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill proposed by Senator Alan Lowenthal that would impose a fee on all containers imported to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, reactions were emotional.
“I was shocked. I was under the impression that he was really committed to signing the bill,” said Senator Lowenthal in a telephone interview with the lbpost.com yesterday.
“I thought all along that as we kept having meetings, we built this tremendous coalition of supporters. All the cities in the five counties – everybody supported it. Local Chambers of Commerce. The only major opponents were major retailers, and at the last minute, Governor Palin.”
The Long Beach Chamber, however, continued to oppose the bill urging the Governor to veto it.
“In this down economy, the bill was just one more tax that would make our ports less competitive,” said Randy Gordon, President and CEO of the Long Beach Chamber. “Our ports are making substantial gains in mitigating pollution. Let’s give them time to get it right on their own without government on their backs with more taxes.”
Senator Lowenthal also questioned the Governor’s commitment to the bill, despite positive feedback from Gov. Schwarzenegger and his recommendations to improve the bill.
“I don’t think that he was ever really into the bill,” Sen. Lowenthal said. He also mentioned that despite previous reports that this would be the bill’s third and final try, he would be willing to attempt another try. The bill would have collected fees from importing shipping companies, and used the money to improve local infrastructure and invest in more efficient, alternative shipping technologies.
“It’s not the last run,” Senator Lowenthal said. “We have too many people dying. It may be the last run with this Governor. But if I’m re-elected this year, I’ll be here after the Governor for two years.”
During yesterday’s early press conference announcing the debut of the Clean Trucks Program between the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, mayors Foster and Villaraigosa (respectively) expressed disappointment in the Governor’s ruling.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
Disclosure: lbpost.com co-founder Shaun Lumachi is a government affairs advisor to the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.