YUBA CITY – Today, Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) joined with other lawmakers calling on the Governor to authorize an Extraordinary Session of the Legislature as soon as possible to address the nation’s supply chain crisis.
“We need bold action. The political speeches and mild gestures aren’t cutting it,” said Gallagher. “The entire US economy is threatened by this crisis. We need leadership. Lawmakers need to return to the State Capitol to get this straightened out.”
Roughly 40 percent of containers entering the United States from foreign countries pass through either the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach. As of last Tuesday, October 19 there were 62 container ships anchored off the coast waiting for the two aforementioned ports. The wait time for these ships is approximately ten days, which is over 3.8 days longer than the waiting time during the previous month.
As a result of this congestion at California ports, manufacturers are struggling to acquire products to meet consumer demand and farmers are struggling to secure empty containers to ship agricultural goods. These delays ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers, delayed wait times for goods, and a slower post-pandemic economic recovery.
Last week the California Business Roundtable, along with a number of statewide business associations, echoed the need for urgent action on this crisis in response to Governor Newsom’s recent executive actions: “There are additional real, tangible actions the governor could take to meet the moment and tackle this crisis head-on, but convening taskforces in 2022, delaying urgent actions for at least a month, and pushing funding discussions to the January budget proposal do not provide the sense of urgency needed to address this crisis now.”
The letter requests that the Extraordinary Session of the Legislature be called for the purpose of repealing, suspending, or reforming state laws and regulations hindering expeditious service at California ports.