PORTS Act
Latest action · Nov 16, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 31, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Orderly and Responsible Transit of Shipments Act of 2015 or the PORTS Act
This bill amends the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 to extend to labor slowdowns occurring at U.S. ports the President's authority to appoint a board of inquiry into the issues involved.
State and territorial governors shall have authority to request the President to appoint a board of inquiry if a slowdown, or a threatened or an actual strike or lock-out, occurring at one or more U.S. ports will, if continued, imperil national or state health or safety.
If the President does not appoint a board of inquiry within 10 days after receiving a request, the governor who made the request may appoint one to report on the dispute to the governor and the President, although without recommendations. Supplemental reports are also authorized. Boards of inquiry are limited to one that may appointed for each dispute during a 90-day period.
Governors may also petition for injunctions against such labor or management actions affecting ports in their states or territories.
The National Labor Relations Board, for each dispute, shall take not more than one secret ballot for the same employees in any 30-day period.
The Government Accountability Office shall study the West Coast ports slowdown to:
- study the economic impact of the slowdowns and congestion caused by the negotiations on the nation as a whole as well as each port,
- review steps taken by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to resolve the dispute,
- identify steps FMCS and the Administration could have taken sooner to facilitate an agreement, and
- determine what legislative changes could strengthen these tools and result in more timely intervention.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 31, 2015.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AS | Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen | Original | Jul 31, 2015 |
| R-WA | Dan Newhouse | Original | Jul 31, 2015 |
| R-CO | Mike Coffman | Original | Jul 31, 2015 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 16, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
- Jul 31, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 31, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1519 | PORTS Act | Related bill | Jun 17, 2015 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- California
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Economic performance and conditions
- Government studies and investigations
- Intergovernmental relations
- Labor and Employment
- Labor-management relations
- Marine and inland water transportation
- Navigation, waterways, harbors
- Oregon
- Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
- State and local government operations
- War and emergency powers
- Washington State
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 31, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.