BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1253|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1253
Author: Blumenfield (D) and Nazarian (D)
Amended: 6/12/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/11/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 57-15, 5/16/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Mobile billboards
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill clarifies that a city or county may
establish civil penalties for violation of a local ordinance or
resolution regulating mobile billboards.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits a city or county from
enacting or enforcing any ordinance or resolution on matters
covered by the Vehicle Code unless expressly authorized by that
code. Among other things, the Vehicle Code allows cities and
counties to regulate mobile billboard advertising displays. A
mobile billboard is an advertising display that is attached to a
mobile, non-motorized vehicle, device, or bicycle, that carries,
pulls, or transports a sign or billboard and is for the primary
purpose of advertising. In regulating mobile billboards, a city
or county may establish penalties including, but not limited to,
removal of the mobile billboard advertising display and
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AB 1253
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misdemeanor criminal penalties. The city or county also may
establish a minimum distance that a mobile billboard advertising
display shall be moved after a specified time period.
This bill clarifies that a city or county may also establish
civil penalties for violation of a local ordinance or resolution
regulating mobile billboards.
Comments
Existing law already states that cities and counties may
establish penalties for violation of local mobile billboard
ordinances. The statute includes a list of possible penalties
that does not mention civil penalties, but the list is expressly
non-exclusive. In other words, cities and counties may already
impose civil penalties for these violations. The author's
office argues that the explicit addition of civil penalties is a
necessary clarification.
Several cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, West
Hollywood, and Burbank have banned mobile billboard advertising
displays with ordinances that do not regulate the content of the
advertisement, but distinguish between vehicles whose sole
purpose is advertising and other types of vehicles that display
signs like buses, taxis, and delivery vehicles.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/12/13)
City of Torrance
League of California Cities
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the League of California
Cities, "In some communities of the state where parking is at a
premium, cities need to bolster state law with an ordinance
individualized to fit that particular community. Specifically,
some communities need a resolution that is in between a tow
ticket and issuing a misdemeanor. As the Vehicle Code provides
that its provisions are applicable and uniform throughout the
state, local governments need express authority from the state
to adopt such a resolution."
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The author argues that "This bill would enable a city to use
civil procedure to address problems that affect business, such
as the unhitched trailer occupying the last parking space in a
commercial corridor, endanger drivers, such as the wide truck
obstructing the traffic right of way on a narrow street or put
pedestrians at risk, such as the oversized billboard blocking
the view of oncoming traffic. Importantly, this bill empowers
local government to address the problems of mobile advertising
through less drastic means than the misdemeanor criminal
penalties currently specified in the Vehicle Code."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 57-15, 5/16/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson,
Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gray,
Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Ting, Torres, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Fox, Beth
Gaines, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Logue, Mansoor, Nestande,
Patterson, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Gorell, Grove, Holden, Melendez,
Morrell, Stone, Vacancy
JA:ej 6/12/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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