BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 694
                                                                  Page  1

          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. 









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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