SB 1134, as introduced, Knight. Vehicles: public transit buses: illuminated signs.
Existing law authorizes a bus operated by a publicly owned transit system on regularly scheduled service to be equipped with illuminated signs that display information directly related to public service and include, among other things, destination signs, route-number signs, run-number signs, public service announcement signs, or a combination of those signs, visible from any direction of the vehicle, that emit any light color, other than the color red emitted from forward-facing signs, pursuant to specified conditions.
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2017, a pilot program that allows up to 25 buses operated by the City of Santa Monica’s publicly owned transit system for the first 2 years of the pilot program, and up to 30 buses thereafter, to be equipped with illuminated signs that display advertising subject to certain conditions, including a display area of not greater than 4,464 square inches.
This bill would require the Antelope Valley Transit Authority on or before March 1, 2015, if it elects to implement the pilot program authorized by the bill, to determine whether the City of Santa Monica has at least one transit bus equipped with illuminated signs that is operational pursuant to the pilot program authorized under existing law. If the Antelope Valley Transit Authority determines that the City of Santa Monica does have such a transit bus, the bill would prohibit the Antelope Valley Transit Authority from implementing the bill’s pilot program. If the Antelope Valley Transit Authority determines that the City of Santa Monica does not have such a bus, the Antelope Valley Transit Authority would be authorized to implement the bill’s pilot program.
The bill would authorize, until January 1, 2020, a pilot program that would allow up to 25 buses operated by the Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s publicly owned transit system for the first 2 years of the pilot program, and up to 30 buses thereafter, to be equipped with illuminated signs that display advertising subject to certain conditions, including a display area of not greater than 4,464 square inches. The bill would require the authority to submit a specified report to the Legislature and the Department of the California Highway Patrol by July 1, 2019, on the incidence of adverse impacts, if any.
The bill would make legislative findings and declarations concerning the need for special legislation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 25353.2 is added to the Vehicle Code,
2to read:
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 25400 and 25950,
4except as provided in subdivision (c), a bus operated by the
5Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s publicly owned transit system,
6on regularly scheduled service, in addition to the illuminated signs
7described in Section 25353, may also be equipped with illuminated
8signs that display advertising and that emit any light color, if all
9of the following conditions are met:
10(1) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising shall emit
11diffused nonglaring light.
12(2) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising shall be limited
13in size to a display area of not greater than 4,464 square
inches.
14(3) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising shall not
15resemble nor be installed in a position that interferes with the
16visibility or effectiveness of a required lamp, reflector, or other
17device upon the vehicle.
18(4) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising shall only be
19placed on one or both sides of the vehicle, and shall not be placed
P3 1in a forward-facing or rear-facing position, and no more than one
2sign shall be placed on either side of any single vehicle.
3(5) The mixing of individually colored light-emitting diode
4elements, including red, is allowed in each illuminated sign
5displaying advertising as long as the emitted color formed by the
6combination of light-emitting diode elements is not red.
7(b) (1) An illuminated sign displaying advertising may be
8operated as a dynamic message sign in a paging or streaming mode.
9However, the electronic message sign display shall remain static
10while a bus is operating on a freeway as defined in Section 257 of
11the Streets and Highways Code.
12(2) The following definitions shall govern the construction of
13paragraph (1):
14(A) “Paging,” meaning character elements or other information
15presented for a period of time and then disappearing all at once
16before the same or new elements are presented, is permitted if the
17display time of each message is between 2.7 and 10 seconds.
18Blanking times between each message shall be between 0.5 and
1925 seconds.
20(B) “Streaming,” meaning character elements or other
21information moving smoothly and continuously across the display,
22is permitted if the character movement time, from one end of the
23display to the other, is at least 2.7 seconds, and the movement time
24of the entire message does not exceed 10 seconds.
25(c) (1) On or before March 1, 2015, the Antelope Valley Transit
26Authority, if it elects to implement a pilot program pursuant to this
27section, shall determine whether the City of Santa Monica has at
28least one transit bus equipped with illuminated signs that is
29operational pursuant to Section 25353.1.
30(2) If the Antelope Valley Transit Authority determines pursuant
31to paragraph (1) that the City of Santa Monica has at least one
32transit bus equipped with illuminated signs that is operational
33pursuant to Section 25353.1, the
Antelope Valley Transit Authority
34shall not implement the pilot program authorized by this section.
35(3) If the Antelope Valley Transit Authority determines pursuant
36to paragraph (1) that the City of Santa Monica does not have at
37least one transit bus equipped with illuminated signs that is
38operational pursuant to Section 25353.1, the Antelope Valley
39Transit Authority may implement the pilot program authorized by
40this section.
P4 1(d) On or before July 1, 2019, the Antelope Valley Transit
2Authority shall submit to the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795
3of the Government Code, and to the department, a report on the
4incidence of adverse impacts on roadway and pedestrian safety
5due to the utilization of illuminated signs on transit buses
6displaying advertising pursuant to this section, if any. The report
7shall be the product of a collaborative effort by Antelope Valley
8law enforcement
and transit officials, and other local law
9enforcement officials in whose jurisdictions Antelope Valley transit
10vehicles operate.
11(e) The Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s publicly owned
12transit system may, pursuant to subdivision (a), operate up to 25
13buses with illuminated signs displaying advertising for two years,
14after which time the authority may increase the number of buses
15with the signs to up to 30.
16(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
17and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
18is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
20is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
21within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
22Constitution because the Antelope Valley Transit Authority is
23facing an operating revenue deficit in its public transit system and
24is evaluating several strategies designed to enhance revenue over
25the next several years, including the use of electronic illuminated
26signage that displays advertising on local transit buses, which is
27not authorized under state law. It is, therefore, declared that a
28statute of general applicability cannot be enacted within the
29meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 16 of Article IV of the
30California Constitution. Therefore, this special statute is necessary.
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