BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1134 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 1134 (Knight) As Amended June 15, 2014 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :28-7 TRANSPORTATION 15-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Lowenthal, Linder, | | | | |Achadjian, Bloom, Bonta, | | | | |Buchanan, Daly, Frazier, | | | | |Gatto, Holden, Logue, | | | | |Nazarian, Patterson, | | | | |Quirk-Silva, Waldron | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Authorizes the Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) to institute a pilot program to equip the sides of its buses with illuminated signs to display advertising if the AVTA makes a specified determination on or before March 1, 2015. Specifically, this bill : 1)Authorizes a bus operated by AVTA to be equipped with illuminated signs that display advertising and that emit any light color, if all of the following conditions are met: a) The signs emit diffused, nonglaring light; b) The signs are no larger than 4,464 square inches in size (for example, roughly three feet high by 10 feet long); c) The signs do not resemble and are not installed in a position that interferes with the visibility or effectiveness of a required lamp, reflector, or other device upon the vehicle; d) The signs are placed only on the sides of buses, not on the front or back, with no more than one sign placed on either side of any single vehicle; and, e) Light-emitting diodes for illumination may include red, provided the color formed by the mixing of light from the SB 1134 Page 2 diodes in the signs is not red. 1)Allows an illuminated sign displaying advertising to be operated as a dynamic message sign in a paging or streaming mode, but requires the display to remain static when a bus is operating on a state freeway. 2)Allows "paging," meaning character elements or other information presented for a period of time and then disappearing all at once before the same or new elements are presented, if the display time of each message is between 2.7 seconds and 10 seconds and requires blanking times between each message to be between 0.5 seconds and 25 seconds. 3)Allows "streaming," meaning character elements or other information moving smoothly and continuously across the display, if the character movement time from one end of the display to the other is at least 2.7 seconds and the movement time of the entire message does not exceed 10 seconds. 4)Specifies that AVTA may implement the pilot program only if it determines that the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) has equipped fewer than 12 transit buses with illuminated signs by March 1, 2015. 5)Authorizes AVTA to operate up to 25 buses with illuminated signs displaying advertising for two years, after which the authority may increase the number of buses with the signs to 30. 6)Requires AVTA, if it implements the pilot program, to submit to the Legislature by January 1, 2019, a report on the incidence of adverse impacts on roadway and pedestrian safety due to the utilization of illuminated signs on transit buses, and requires that the report be the product of a collaborative effort by Antelope Valley law enforcement, transit officials, and other local law enforcement officials in whose jurisdictions AVTA vehicles operate. 7)Sunsets AVTA's authority to operate buses with illuminated signs on July 1, 2020. FISCAL EFFECT : None COMMENTS : Public transit agencies have long subsidized transit SB 1134 Page 3 operations with revenues from paper advertising displays placed on the sides of buses. A recent federal research project suggests that the emerging media of digital bus advertising could provide a potential additional revenue stream for transit agencies. These digital signs are ultra-thin, lightweight, light emitting diode (LED) screens that can easily be mounted on the sides of buses and cost about $50,000 each. Digital advertising allows for customized advertising, including a variable rate structure and easily changeable messaging. Responding to this new potential revenue source, the Legislature enacted AB 607 (Brownley), Chapter 529, Statutes of 2011, authorizing Santa Monica to conduct a pilot project to study the safety impacts of illuminated signs on buses. Before widely authorizing the use of these signs across the state, the Legislature wanted to study the safety of the signs and the potential for distraction of pedestrians and other drivers. By 2013, Santa Monica had not started the pilot and the city was not sure it would because of concerns over costs and less optimistic revenue expectations. However, transit agencies were continuing to express interest in using illuminated signs for advertising on buses. Still wanting to gather information through a pilot before considering statewide authority, the Legislature passed AB 541 (Daly), Chapter 133, Statutes of 2013, granting UC Irvine the authority to operate a pilot program but only if, by March 1, 2014, Santa Monica had not begun its own program. Santa Monica has still not started the program so UC Irvine has begun preparing to do its own pilot. This bill allows AVTA to conduct an illuminated sign pilot subject to the same requirements established for Santa Monica and UC Irvine, but only if it determines that UC Irvine has equipped fewer than 12 transit buses with signs by March 1, 2015. AVTA would be required to report to the Legislature on its program, if implemented, by January 1, 2020, and its pilot would sunset on July 1, 2020. Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093FN: 0003950 SB 1134 Page 4