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. SB 694 Page 2 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 SB 694 Page 3 explicit material. Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 319-2081