BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 31|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 31
Author: Padilla (D), et al.
Amended: 8/22/13
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-0, 4/9/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Lara, Liu,
Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hueso, Pavley, Roth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/22/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 4/29/13 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,
Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland,
Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu, Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Outdoor Advertising Act: arena exemption
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows arenas to display advertising for
products, goods, or services sold on premises as well as part of
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a sponsorship marketing plan if the arena is on public land and
has a capacity of 15,000 or more seats.
Assembly Amendments (1) provide if an advertising display
authorized by this bill is subject to a notice from any
applicable federal agency that the operation of that display
will result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds, the
display owner shall remove all advertising copy from the display
within 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the
receipt of the federal notice, (2) provide failure to remove the
advertising copy will result in a civil fine, imposed by the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), of $10,000
per day until the advertising copy is removed, (3) provide the
local agency adopting the ordinance authorizing the displays
have the primary responsibility for ensuring that the displays
remain in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance and
of this bill, as specified, and (4) make other technical and
conforming changes.
ANALYSIS : The Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA) regulates the
size, illumination, orientation, and location of advertising
displays adjacent to and within specified distances of
interstate or primary highways, and, with some exceptions,
specifically prohibits any advertising display from being placed
or maintained on property adjacent to a section of landscaped
highway.
The OAA generally does not apply to "on premise" advertising
displays, which include those advertising the sale of the
property upon which it is placed or that advertise the business
conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold on the
property. Local government regulates on-premise displays,
except for certain safety requirements.
AB 2339 (Solorio, Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008), known as the
arena exemption, expanded the definition of an "on premise"
display to include those displays advertising products, goods,
or services sold on the premises of an arena that has a capacity
of at least 5,000 seats and is located on public land, provided
certain conditions were met. AB 2339 specifically prohibited
the advertising of products, goods, or services directed at an
adult population, including alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or
sexually explicit material.
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This bill clarifies aspects of the OAA arena exemption in the
following ways:
1.Recasts the arena advertising exception to exempt from the OAA
specified advertising displays authorized before January 1,
2019, by local ordinance, at a venue with a capacity of 15,000
seats or more that is capable of providing a permanent venue
for professional sports.
2.Requires the local government to adopt an ordinance
authorizing the advertising displays on the premise of the
arena with specific regulations including:
A. Number of signs and total signage area allowed.
B. Maximum individual signage area.
C. Minimum sign separation.
D. Illumination restrictions and regulations, including
signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.
E. Illuminated sign hours of operation.
1.Defines the premise of the arena to potentially include a
district encompassing the arena but not extending more than
1,000 feet beyond the arena.
2.Authorizes advertising displays to advertise any products,
goods, or services sold within that area on a regular basis,
or marketed or promoted in that area pursuant to a sponsorship
marketing plan, except distilled spirits, tobacco, firearms,
or sexually explicit material.
3.Defines a "sponsorship marketing plan" as an agreement between
the property owner, facility owner, facility operator, or
occupant of the premises of an arena and a sponsor pursuant to
which the sponsor is allowed to include its logo, slogan, or
advertising displays and that meets both of the following
conditions:
A. The sponsorship marketing plan is for a period of not
less than one year.
B. The sponsorship marketing plan grants the sponsor the
opportunity to display its logo, slogan, or advertising in
the interior of structures on the premises of an arena, or
conduct promotions, public relations, or marketing
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activities on the premises of an arena.
1.Allows a qualifying arena to place up to two displays at
approaching highway off ramps and treat them as though they
are arena displays as long as the displays are authorized by a
local ordinance as of January 1, 2019.
2.Requires Caltrans to review and certify that the proposed
displays and sign ordinance meet the minimum statutory
requirements.
3.Requires the owner of these displays either to provide or fund
the installation of one changeable message sign to accommodate
public service messages such as "Amber Alerts" and emergency
disaster communications.
4.Specifies that if an advertising display is subject to a
notice from the United States Department of Transportation,
the Federal Highway Administration, or any other applicable
federal agency to the state that the operation of that display
will result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds,
then the authorization of that display shall cease and the
display owner shall remove all advertising copy from the
display within 60 days after the state notifies the display
owner of the receipt of the federal notice.
5. Specifies that failure to remove the advertising copy, as
specified, shall result in a civil fine of $10,000 per day
until the advertising copy is removed.
6. Specifies that the city, county, or city and county adopting
the ordinance shall have primary responsibility for ensuring
that the displays remain in conformance with all the
provision of this bill.
7. Specifies that if the city, county, or city and county fails
to ensure that the displays remain in conformance with all
provisions of the ordinance and this measure after 30 days of
receipt of a written notice from Caltrans the city, county,
or city and county shall hold Caltrans harmless and indemnify
Caltrans for all costs incurred by the department to ensure
compliance with the ordinance and this measure or to defend
actions challenging the adoption of the ordinance allowing
displays.
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8. Specifies that an advertising display that was lawfully
erected on or before December 31, 2013, in conformity with
the law relating to the exemption for advertising displays on
arenas, to remain authorized.
Comments
Arenas are exempted from the OAA . Major sports arenas are often
funded primarily with public dollars, but as the public becomes
more reluctant to apply tax dollars to such projects, private
investors are increasing their share of arena development and
construction costs. To address this shift, arena promoters have
looked for other means by which to finance these costly
projects. Proponents determined that advertising revenue,
particularly generated alongside busy interstates in front of
massive sports complexes, was a reasonable and potentially
lucrative alternative to public financing. In some ways,
policymakers have traded direct public funding for the indirect
public cost of allowing these signs to exist, including all the
potential downsides such as increased driver distraction and
blight.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Initial Caltrans costs of approximately $75,000 to conduct any
up-front coordination activities, revise existing regulations
regarding outdoor advertising, and inspect newly erected signs
(State Highway Account).
Ongoing Caltrans staff costs of approximately $35,000 annually
to consult with the Secretary of Transportation in reviewing
any proposed displays and ordinances, and to annually inspect
existing signs (State Highway Account).
Minor costs to the Secretary of Transportation to review
proposed displays and local ordinances.
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/23/13)(Unable to reverify at time of
writing)
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AEG
Anaheim Ducks
Asian Business Association
Farmers Insurance Group
Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce
Honda Center
HP Pavilion
Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles
Major League Soccer
National Association of Woman Business Owners
National Hockey League
State Building and Construction Trades Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/23/13) (Unable to reverify at time
of writing)
California State Outdoor Advertising Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
According to the author's office, this bill allows for local
control while establishing statewide guidelines for advertising
displays at professional sports facilities and arenas. The
author's office states that the cost of building, operating, and
maintaining professional sports facilities is rising, and while
public funding was traditionally a large portion of the
necessary financing, today funding comes from many different
sources such as naming rights, ticket sales, and concessions. A
growing revenue source funding professional sports arenas is
advertising, both inside and outside the arena. The author's
office argues that this bill is important to enable current and
future arenas to tap into this increasingly critical financing
source to backfill the decrease in public funding available for
such purposes.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION :
Opponents of the bill raise several issues. First, opponents
argue that this bill creates a conflict for local governments
because the billboards must be on public land, so the local
government may share in the advertising revenue, and at the same
time is required to regulate on-premise signs. Second,
opponents share the concern that these signs could jeopardize
federal highway funds. Third, opponents are concerned that this
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bill is unnecessarily broad, suggesting that dozens of new
billboards would be exempted by this bill. Finally, the
opponents believe this bill puts the Legislature and the
Governor in a position of picking winners and losers, because it
is unfairly exempting some sign owners from state laws and not
others.
JA:ej:nl 9/6/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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