It was a bad public-relations move: several editorials depicted Whitman as canoeing a scenic river after signing paperwork favored by industry.
USC law professor George Lefcoe said the decision will require agents to be more careful and may create more paperwork, but the industry will continue to allow such arrangements because a brokerage can collect a commission from both parties.
The disclosure was included in paperwork that Freedom Industries had filed under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, a 1986 law that is meant ensure that the public and first responders are adequately informed in the case of an accident, and that there is a plan to deal with it, such as alerts and evacuations.
As a result of the confusion, employers have scrambled to compile and check paperwork, and a cottage industry of law forums and consulting is emerging.
But Mr. Bennett says the association is calling for revisions in the bill, which it says "just adds another layer to the process that is already burying the industry in paperwork".
Its so-called e-freight program aims to computerize cumbersome paperwork and give the industry a huge competitive lift by shaving 24 hours from transport times, thanks to improved coordination between airports, airlines and brokers.
The Web upgrades should make it easier to process drilling paperwork more quickly, something the industry wants.
His company, Powered Now, produces apps to take the pain out of paperwork for the field trade industry.
He was a 5-foot, 4-inch wisecracking Mets fan who spent his working life in the paperwork sector of the shipping industry and loved wrestling, bowling and beer.
Learn about the paperwork involved in that particular industry, credit applications, invoices, contracts, purchase orders, personal guarantees and the like.
