Sacramento – A measure by Assemblymember Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach), urging additional federal revenues for port and maritime security received wide, bipartisan support on the Senate Floor today. Assembly Joint Resolution 21 urges the President and Congress to increase federal funding for California's ports and requests that federal legislation be enacted to recognize the importance of California's ports and ensure that an equitable return of customs' revenues generated in the state be returned for port security and goods movement infrastructure.

California is a national leader in international commerce, with an estimated $40 billion in goods moved annually to a source or destination outside of the state. It is expected that by the year 2020, the amount of trade transported through the state's ports will triple. Yet despite California being the single largest trading entity in the country, the State ranked 44th per capita in its receipt of Homeland Security grant funding over the past two years.

"The federal government, by their own accounts, has failed miserably in their efforts to direct port security revenues to those areas with the greatest need," stated Assemblymember Karnette. "California collects more maritime customs revenues than any other state in the country, and none of it is returned to California to mitigate the costs to our roads and the environment. Californians consistently pump more dollars into the federal treasury than they get back in the form of goods or services. California brings the world's 6th or 7th largest economy to the table, and all the feds do is raid the pantry and leave us their scraps," said Karnette.

An internal audit report of the Port Security Grant Program by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealed that the "current design of the program compromises the program's ability to direct resources toward the nation's highest priorities." In another study produced by the Public Policy Institute of California, it was discovered that California is receiving far less per capita in federal homeland security grants for first responders than other states. As an example of this, California received $5 per capita, while Wyoming received $38 per capita in 2004.

Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Harman of California are authoring proposals in Congress to address the vulnerability of California's ports and the need for additional revenues to improve port security. Stated Karnette, "I will continue to work with federal, state and local officials to resolve the port security crisis. With the approval of AJR 21, California is delivering a strong message to the federal government that additional federal customs revenues should be directed to those states that generate the most revenues and have the greatest needs."