BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 541
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 541 (Daly)
As Amended June 18, 2013
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(April 29, |SENATE: |30-1 |(July 8, 2013) |
| | |2013) | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Establishes a pilot program for the University of
California at Irvine (Irvine), allowing their transit buses to
advertise on their side-mounted illuminated signs until January
1, 2019. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes, until January 1, 2019, Irvine to establish a pilot
program allowing their publicly-owned transit buses to be
equipped with illuminated signs that display advertisements.
2)Establishes conditions governing the use of illuminated
display advertising signs including:
a) Signs shall emit diffused non-glaring light;
b) Signs shall not be greater than 4,464 square inches in
area;
c) Signs shall not be installed in a position that
interferes with the visibility of required lamps,
reflectors, or other devices;
d) Signs shall not be forward or backward facing (i.e., not
on the front or rear of the bus); and,
e) Light emitting diodes for illumination may include red
provided the colored formed by the mixing of light from the
diodes in the advertising is not red.
1)Prohibits buses from using the streaming or paging mode for
the illuminated signs when the vehicles are operated on state
freeways.
2)Requires Irvine to submit a specified safety report to the
AB 541
Page 2
Legislature by July 1, 2016, on the incidence of adverse
impacts of the illuminated signs.
3)Limits the number of buses with illuminated signs to 25 for
two years, after which Irvine may increase the total number to
30.
4)Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2019.
The Senate amendments : Require Irvine, on or before March 1,
2014, if it chooses to implement a pilot program, to determine
whether the City of Santa Monica (Santa Monica) has at least 12
transit buses in operation that are equipped with illuminated
signs. Authorize Irvine to proceed with their program only if
Santa Monica has less than 12 transit buses equipped with
illuminated signs that are operational.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes, until January 1, 2017, a pilot program for Santa
Monica allowing their transit buses to advertise on their
side-mounted illuminated signs. Establishes the
specifications and prohibitions of the illuminated signs.
Prohibits the buses from using the streaming or paging mode
for the illuminated signs when the vehicles are operated on
state freeways. Requires Santa Monica to submit a report to
the Legislature by July 1, 2018, on the incidence of adverse
impacts, if any.
2)Authorizes buses, operated by a publicly-owned transit system
on regularly scheduled service to be equipped with illuminated
destination signs.
3)Authorizes dynamic messaging on all illuminated signs if the
practice adheres to prescribed requirements.
4)Defines "lighting equipment" as an illuminated sign installed
on a bus that utilizes an electronic display to convey the
route designation, route number, run number, or any
combination thereof.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
AB 541
Page 3
COMMENTS : Public transit agencies have long used static signs
placed on the sides of buses to display advertising. Transit
agencies receive revenue from firms that use the signs for
advertising. A project sponsored by the Transit Cooperative
Research Program, a joint venture of the Federal Transit
Administration and the Transportation Research Board, identified
the emerging media of digital bus advertising as a revenue
stream for transit agencies.
The digital signs are ultra-thin, lightweight, light emitting
diode (LED) screens that can easily be mounted on the sides of
buses. Digital advertising allows for customize advertising,
including a rate structure that varies by the time of day,
because the advertising being displayed can be managed remotely.
It is, therefore, possible to render the advertising static
when the buses are operating on freeways.
According to the author, the Irvine Student Government
Department has full oversight on the Anteater Express, the
university's public transportation fleet. They anticipate that
the revenue generated from advertisement sales will backfill
budgetary cuts within their department. They believe that this
bill "not only aims to fund much needed student services, but
also highlights their entrepreneurial spirit and embodies sound
public-private partnership."
Existing law, AB 607 (Brownley), Chapter 529, Statutes of 2011,
allows Santa Monica to use illuminated advertising on the sides
of their public transit buses until January 2017. Santa Monica
transit staff expects that the illuminated billboards would
raise additional revenue for operating its transit system. Last
year, their staff reported that its static advertising generates
about $4.1 million annually, but expect the digital signs to
increase its advertising revenue to about $8 million. However,
in light of public transit agencies in other states selling
digital advertising at reduced levels than anticipated, Santa
Monica is readjusting expectations and moving slowly into this
new business venture. Santa Monica staff report their intent to
hire a consultant to help them determine how many signs to begin
with and what they might charge to optimize revenues. Although
existing law enables them to equip up to 25 buses with
illuminated signs, because of the high capital startup cost,
Santa Monica may begin the program with only five signs to test
its viability.
AB 541
Page 4
The Santa Monica pilot study will look at the adverse impacts
attributed to having the illuminated signs on their public
transit buses. There have been many distracted driving studies
conducted by a variety of constituencies and focused on a number
of potential distractions. There are studies that use data to
prove illuminated billboards do not lead to negative outcomes,
and other studies that refute these conclusions. Nearly all
studies admit that, in most instances, it is very difficult to
identify one single factor that led to an adverse incident such
as an automobile accident. Research tends to show that
accidents arise from an accumulation of factors, including
distractions in the vehicle and outside, weather conditions, and
even within the driver's mind. Allowing Irvine to participate
in this pilot program at this time will provide policymakers
with additional information on the impacts of this program on
driver safety especially if Santa Monica's program is either
slow or unable to develop.
This bill is modeled after the Santa Monica legislation and
provides Irvine with similar authorization to implement a
digital advertising pilot program for their campus and
surrounding areas. In order to protect Santa Monica's
illuminated bus program investments upon implementation, this
bill would prohibit Irvine from implementing their program if
Santa Monica has at least 12 illuminated buses operating by
March 1, 2014.
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0001238