II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2367 

To provide a cause of action for United States port operators with respect 

to the potential change of ownership of a terminal operator to a foreign 

entity, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2006 

Mr. LAUTENBERG introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide a cause of action for United States port operators 

with respect to the potential change of ownership of 

a terminal operator to a foreign entity, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Port Security 

5 Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION ESTABLISHED. 

7 The owner of a United States port may file an action 

8 seeking relief, including nullification of any contractual 


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1 obligation with any terminal operator within the port, in 

2 any appropriate United States district court if a merger, 

3 acquisition, or takeover transaction would result in a 

4 change in the ownership of the terminal operator, and the 

5 new owner would be a foreign controlled entity. Such relief 

6 may be granted upon a showing by the owner of the port 

7 of a demonstrated increase in the security risk to the port 

8 or the port community as a result of such change in own9 ership. 

10 SEC. 3. REVIEW BY SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

11 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall review any 

12 proposed change in the ownership of a terminal operator 

13 within a United States port to a foreign controlled entity 

14 to determine the existence of any potential security con15 cerns raised by such change, and shall transmit the find16 ings of such review to the owner of the United States port 

17 and to the President, or the President’s designee, for pur18 poses of any investigation under section 721(b) of the De19 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. App. 2170(b)). 

20 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

21 Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect or 

22 otherwise alter the requirements of section 721 of the De23 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. App. 2170), or 

24 any rule, regulation, or order issued thereunder. 


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1 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

2 As used in this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘United States port’’ means all 

4 piers, wharves, docks, and similar structures, adja5 cent to any waters subject to the jurisdiction of the 

6 United States, to which a vessel may be secured, in7 cluding areas of land, water, or land and water 

8 under and in immediate proximity to such struc9 tures, buildings, on or contiguous to such structures, 

10 and the equipment and materials on such structures 

11 or in such buildings; and 

12 (2) the term ‘‘marine terminal operator’’— 

13 (A) means the operator of the wharves, 

14 bulkheads, quays, piers, docks, and other berth15 ing locations, and adjacent storage or adjacent 

16 areas and structures associated with the pri17 mary movement of cargo or materials from ves18 sel to shore or shore to vessel, including struc19 tures which are devoted to receiving, handling, 

20 holding, consolidating, and loading or delivery 

21 of waterborne shipments or passengers, includ22 ing areas devoted to the maintenance of the ter23 minal or equipment; and 

24 (B) does not include the operator of any 

25 production or manufacturing areas, or any storVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:57 Mar 04, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2367.IS S2367

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1 age facility directly associated with any such 

2 production or manufacturing area; 

3 (3) the term ‘‘port community’’ means the land 

4 adjacent to and within 10 miles of a United States 

5 port on which persons reside or work who could suf6 fer injury or death in the event of a terrorist attack 

7 on or at the port; and 

8 (4) the term ‘‘foreign controlled entity’’ means 

9 any entity in which a foreign entity owns a majority 

10 interest, or otherwise controls or manages the entity. 

Æ 


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