Gavin Newsom, governor of California, signed an executive order this week directing state agencies to identify ways to alleviate congestion at the state’s ports.
The executive order instructs state agencies to continue coordinating with the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address state, national and global supply chain challenges; requires the Department of Finance to work with state agencies to develop longer-term solutions that support port operations and goods movement; and charges state agencies with identifying state-owned, as well as private and federally owned, properties that could be available to address short-term storage needs once goods are unloaded from ships, and expediting leasing on the state-owned lands.
The nine-point executive order also gives the Department of Transportation 30 days to evaluate and identify priority freight routes to be considered for a temporary exemption to current gross vehicle weight limits.
The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency is to identify potential training partnerships to increase education, career technical education, job training and workforce development opportunities for port workers and other workers across the supply chain.
State departments and agencies are requested to “use all existing legal and financial authority to expedite and prioritize these activities, including by giving them preference in the award of state funding.”
The directive comes at a time where the volume of ships waiting for berth space to open up at Los Angeles and Long Beach has shot up once again this week, with 78 boxships counted yesterday.
By Kim Biggar
Photo: Vince360 / Shutterstock.com
