Palin asked Schwarzenegger to veto port-fee bill for clean air

By Judy Lin
Associated Press
Article Launched: 09/12/2008 04:39:21 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO — A day before she was announced as the Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to veto a bill that would impose a clean-air fee on cargo containers moving through Oakland and other California ports.

Palin's letter to Schwarzenegger, dated Aug. 28, said the fee would lead to higher costs on goods shipped to Alaska and warned that it could drive port business away from California. She said many communities in Alaska lack roads and depend entirely on shipment of goods by container."Shipping costs have increased significantly with the rising price of fuel and these higher costs are quickly passed onto Alaskans," the governor wrote. "This tax makes the situation worse."

The bill would create a fee of up to $60 for each 40-foot cargo container moving through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland. The Southern California port complex is the nation's largest and handles more than 40 percent of the nation's goods; Oakland is the fifth busiest.

The fee would raise an estimated $400 million a year to pay for projects that reduce pollution. That would include developing cleaner truck and train engines or building railroad overpasses to avoid having vehicles idle for long periods of time waiting for trains to pass.

Supporters include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups, while retailers
such as Wal-Mart and Abercrombie & Fitch are opposed.

Clean-air advocates say Palin has no business getting involved in a health issue affecting California residents.
"No matter what the hockey moms say, it's the mothers of children with asthma that the governor should listen to," said Lisa Warshaw, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Clean Air, sponsor of the bill.
Warshaw said the coalition is urging Schwarzenegger to sign the bill because it could help prevent the estimated 3,700 deaths in California each year attributed to pollution from port traffic and freight transportation.
The bill's author, Sen. Alan Lowenthal, said the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex is the largest source of air pollution in the South Coast basin.

"Right now, we are the tailpipe of the nation," he said. Citing recent voter-approved bonds dedicated to reducing port pollution, the Long Beach Democrat said it is only fair for the private sector to "pay their fair share."
His bill passed the Legislature in August. Schwarzenegger vetoed similar legislation in 2006, citing concerns that the measure lacked accountability and concerns that it could drive business away from the ports. Complicating the issue is Schwarzenegger's pledge to veto any legislation sent to his desk until the Legislature sends him a budget. As of Friday, the state has gone a record 74 days without a spending plan, as lawmakers argue over how to deal with a $15.2 billion deficit.
"The governor has not taken a position on this bill," Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Rachel Cameron said. "Once we have a responsible budget in place, he will consider the merits of the bill. The governor is always going to do what's best for the people of California."

Schwarzenegger has endorsed McCain and offered an enthusiastic response after Palin was announced as his running mate, praising the Alaska governor as an effective and courageous leader.

"Governor Palin has been a leader in tackling environmental issues, and she has worked with many states and governors to cooperate on those issues," said Ben Porritt, a McCain-Palin campaign spokesman. (UGH!)

He said it's common for governors to discuss issues affecting commerce and the environment.
It could not be determined immediately whether Palin has ever visited California. A message left with the governor's office in Alaska was not immediately returned. Palin is scheduled to headline a GOP fundraiser later this month at the home of a California billionaire, where the asking price for a photograph with her and a seat at the head table is $50,000. Ticket prices start at $1,000, according to an invitation to the Sept. 25 fundraiser at the Silicon Valley home of software mogul Tom Siebel.
Lowenthal said he offered amendments to the port bill to address concerns Schwarzenegger had expressed. One would have cut the fee in half on containers that simply moved from one ship to another, but Lowenthal said the changes were not negotiated in time to meet a legislative deadline.

He said he would accept that change in a cleanup bill next session. One of his co-authors, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, said that amendment should address Palin's concerns. "The air is wonderful in Alaska and, frankly, they don't have roads that go many places, so they don't have the asthma or pollution problem we have in California," said Kuehl, a Democrat from Santa Monica. "It's clear to me she has no clue about the health problems we face because of the ports in Southern California."