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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: SB 974 – Port Container Fee Dear Governor Schwarzenegger, I OPPOSE SB 974, the Port Container Fee, which would impose a $30 per Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) fee on owners of container cargo coming into various California ports, including the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland. Both the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have already implemented their own user fee for the purposes outlined in SB 974. On December 17, 2007 the Long Beach Port Commission approved a “special cargo fee” ($35 per every TEU) to help fund green efforts, including mitigating air pollution. On December 21, 2007 the Los Angeles Port Commission approved a cargo fee ($35 per every TEU) to help fund air pollution mitigation. The additional burden created by SB 974 would raise the overall cargo tax to $70 per every TEU. Also, funds gathered from user fees are limited in how they can be spent for infrastructure. For example, the monies generated by this fee cannot go towards the upgrade or repair of the ever-important Gerald Desmond Bridge. Though I applaud the Senator for looking at ways to green up the port and improve on infrastructure, a high and painful tax on an already-weakened California economy will only further damage job production and economic development in the state.