Recently Introduced legislation Would More Than Triple Harbor Maintenance Fees

June 16, 2009

Currently, all commercial shipments of goods entering the U.S. are subject to a .125% ad valorem tax known as the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMT) or the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF). The fees collected by this tax are placed in a trust fund to be used for maintenance dredging of federal navigational channels.

Despite recent findings regarding the underutilization of these funds, Representative Richardson (D-CA) has introduced the Making Opportunity via Efficient and More Effective National Transportation Act of 2009 (MOVEMENT Act; H.R. 2355), which proposes to more than triple the HMT to .4375%. Although the Act would exempt shipments from Canada and Mexico, it would expand HMT coverage to commercial cargo entering the U.S. following foreign port use at rate of .3125% of the commercial value.

The additional funds generated by the increased tax would be deposited into a “National Goods Movement Improvement Fund.” This fund would then be used by the Secretary of Transportation to pay for a “National Goods Movement Improvement Program.”

Under the program, beginning October 1^st of every fiscal year, the Secretary would give out the funds collected the previous year to the ports where the HMT was collect. Grants would also be given out to State Departments of Transportation based on the amount of money that was collected in that state.

90% of the funds distributed to ports would be required to be spent on eligible goods movement improvement projects; 7% to eligible environmental projects; and 3% on homeland security projects.