BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 178
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 8, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                  AB 178 (Gaines) - As Introduced:  January 24, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :  Freeway signs:  business logo program  

           SUMMARY  :  Expands the California Department of Transportation's  
          (Caltrans') business logo program from rural areas (with  
          populations to under 5,000) to more urban areas with populations  
          up to 50,000 but only if the urban area has had a highway bypass  
          completed since 2002.  

           EXISTING LAW:

           1)Directs Caltrans to adopt rules and regulations that allow the  
            placement near freeways identifying the presence of specific  
            roadside businesses offering food, lodging, camping services,  
            approved 24-hour pharmacy services, or specific approved  
            attractions, under the following conditions:

             a)   All business applicants must have equal access to the  
               program; and,

             b)   Caltrans is prohibited from placing business logo signs  
               within urban areas designated by the United State Bureau of  
               Census as having a population of 5,000 or more.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  The business logo program was originally created to  
          provide motorists with information regarding specific roadside  
          businesses offering gas, food, lodging, or camping services  
          alongside rural areas and to include 24-hour pharmacies specific  
          attractions.  

          Implementing regulations promulgated by Caltrans set forth  
          criteria for businesses to be included in the program.  For  
          example, gas stations must meet the following criteria:  

          1)The business must be generally neat, clean, and have a  
            comfortable appearance and an adequate scope of services.  

          2)For gas stations, a business must be located within one mile  








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            of the freeway interchange and it must provide vehicle  
            services, including fuel, oil, tire repair, battery, and  
            radiator water. It must also provide public restrooms, water  
            fountains, and telephones and it must be open for a specified  
            number of hours per day.  

          According to the author, this bill is intended to help  
          communities such as Lincoln, whose business community has been  
          negatively impacted by the opening of the Lincoln Bypass last  
          year.  The bypass diverts traffic from the historic downtown and  
          its fuel and food service providers.  Lincoln is not eligible to  
          participate in the business logo program because its population  
          exceeds the definition of rural.  



          Application of this bill's provisions will be limited to small  
          urban communities for which a bypass has been completed after  
          2002.  Currently, there are only a handful of bypasses that have  
          recently been constructed, are being developed, or are being  
          considered in a small urban areas for which these provisions  
          might apply, for example, bypasses in Brawley, Willits, Los  
          Banos, Amador, and Angels Camp.  

           Previous legislation  :

          AB 1257 (Chandler), Chapter 560, Statutes of 1992, expanded the  
          business logo program beyond rural areas alongside of Interstate  
          5 to other rural areas of California.  

          SB 599 (Knight), of 1997, would have required Caltrans to allow  
          business logo signs in areas with populations larger than 5,000  
          if the city submits a written request to the department for such  
          placement.  The bill failed passage in the Senate Transportation  
          Committee.  

          AB 1923 (Dickerson), Chapter 576, Statutes of 2002, was  
          originally introduced to expand the business logo program to  
          areas up to 15,000.  The bill was subsequently amended, and  
          eventually signed to prohibit Caltrans from taking down business  
          logo signs in areas with populations that exceeded 5,000 but did  
          not exceed 10,000.  

          AB 1495 (La Malfa), Chapter 119, Statutes of 2007, requires  
          Caltrans to incorporate an "RV-friendly" symbol in the business  








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          logo program.  

          SB 377 (Aanestad), Chapter 378, Statutes of 2008, requires  
          Caltrans to adopt rules and regulations adding 24-hour pharmacy  
          services and specified categories of approved attractions to the  
          business logo program.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          League of California Cities
          Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :   Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093