8/10/05-A bill in the Legislature that sought to force the owners or leasers of intermodal chassis to be responsible for the proper maintenance of the equipment has died.
SB1007, sponsored by Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland, remained in the Senate Budget Committee when the session ended last week, effectively killing it for the year.
Ports in the state that load and unload oceangoing vessels would have been required to employ trained safety inspectors to check every intermodal chassis – the trailers that carry intermodal freight containers – before they leave a port.
It called for inspections that would check such items as brakes, suspension, tires and wheels, connecting devices, lights, and electrical systems. Inspectors would have been required to place a tamper-proof green tag on chassis with no defects and a red tag on chassis with defects.
Red-tagged chassis could not have been released to a driver until repairs were made. Removing or tampering with a tag could have resulted in a $6,250 fine, one-year imprisonment, or both.
The measure also sought to allow drivers to request that a chassis be reinspected if they thought it’s unsafe. Port employees, inspectors, owners, or lessees of intermodal chassis would have been fined $1,250, serve 30 days in jail, or both, if they threatened, coerced, or otherwise retaliated against a driver who notified an inspector about the condition of a chassis, or requested reinspection or repair.

6/22/05-A bill in the Senate’s Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development would force the owner or leaser of an intermodal chassis to be responsible for the proper maintenance of the equipment.
Under SB1007, ports in the state that load and unload oceangoing vessels would be required to employ trained safety inspectors to check every intermodal chassis, the trailers that carry intermodal freight containers, before they leave a port.
Sponsored by Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland, it calls for inspections that would check such items as brakes, suspension, tires and wheels, connecting devices, lights, and electrical system. Inspectors would be required to place a tamper-proof green tag on chassis with no defects and a red tag on chassis with defects.
Red-tagged chassis could not be released to a driver until repairs were made. Removing or tampering with a tag could result in a $6,250 fine, one-year imprisonment, or both.
The measure also would allow a driver to request that a chassis be reinspected if he or she thinks it’s unsafe. Port employees, inspectors, owners, or lessees of intermodal chassis would be fined $1,250, serve 30 days in jail, or both, if they threatened, coerced, or otherwise retaliated against a driver who notified an inspector about the condition of a chassis, or requested reinspection or repair.
If the bill advances from the subcommittee, it would move to the Budget Committee for further consideration. For bill status, call (503) 986-1180.