The Port of Oakland Commission officially voted Thursday to support a national goods movement policy, after making a change to the language of the resolution to make it clear that Oakland was speaking for itself, not "all West Coast ports."


The American Trucking Associations says the resolution, which also calls for an amendment to a federal law that limits local or state regulation related to the price, route or service of any motor carrier, is a move to get an exemption for port drayage hauls of less than 50 miles and move toward a more employee-based drayage system.

The port has been considering to push for an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act to allow ports to set regulations for environmental, security and congestion programs. The national goods movement policy that it calls for focuses on funding and investment in port infrastructure tied to goods movement.

"We've had a lot of positive conversations trying to get a national policy to help our ports become more competitive, seek investment for infrastructure projects and work with our legislators to get that needed support," said Victor Uno, president of the board. "The Board is looking at a resolution that quite frankly does not talk about employee drivers or mandates but does identify the need to look at FAAAA and SAFETEA-LU as a way to discuss how legislative efforts can help the Port of Oakland fund critical infrastructure and enact policies for improving our environment, health and safety and working conditions."