BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 694
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Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 694 (Correa) - As Amended: July 1, 2013
Policy Committee: Governmental
Organization Vote: 10 - 1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill exempts high-speed rail stations from the California
Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA). Specifically, this bill:
1)Exempts from the OAA advertising displays at current or future
high-speed rail stations if certain requirements are met.
2)Creates a prohibition against advertising distilled spirits,
tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicitly material.
3)Specifies that any advertising display shall be authorized by
a local ordinance, adopted by the city or county that
regulates advertising displays by either identifying the
specific displays or by establishing regulations.
4)Specifies that authorization of an advertising display shall
be subject to the owner of the display submitting, to the High
Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), a copy of the ordinance
authorizing the display that has been adopted by the
applicable city or county.
5)Requires the HSRA to review and certify that the proposed
display and the ordinance meet the minimum requirements,
including that the multimodal transit facility is or will be a
current or future station for the high-speed train system.
6)Specifies that nothing in this bill limits a city or county
from adopting an ordinance that further restricts the size,
number, or types of advertising displays authorized by this
bill.
SB 694
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FISCAL EFFECT
Workload associated with reviewing and certifying proposed
advertising displays should be minor and absorbable within
existing HSRA resources.
COMMENTS
1)Intent . According to the author, this bill provides an
opportunity to utilize a public-private partnership to
partially fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of
high-speed rail station areas. The author contends that
construction and operation of large transit stations,
particularly once the stations begin servicing high-speed
trains, will result in significant economic development and
job creation. The ongoing costs to operate such facilities,
however, can be considerable. Advertising revenue, as
authorized by this bill, will help local communities defray
these costs and reduce the need for taxpayer offsets. In this
way, the author contends, this bill promotes the development
of high-speed rail and creates another tool to fund and
deliver this important state priority.
2)Existing Law . The Outdoor Advertising Act governs the
placement of advertising displays adjacent to highways that
are part of the national system of interstate highways. The
act prohibits any advertising display from being placed next
to a section of a freeway if the advertising display is
designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on the
freeway. The Legislature has provided specific statutory
exemptions to this prohibition.
3)Related Legislation . Currently, SB 31 (Padilla) modifies 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. That bill is currently pending on the
Assembly Floor.
AB 2339 (Solorio; Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008) exempted
publicly owned professional sporting and entertainment venues
from outdoor advertising restrictions contained in the Outdoor
Advertising Act (OAA). That bill also prohibited the
advertising of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or sexually
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explicit material.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081