BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 223|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 223
          Author:   Dahle (R)
          Amended:  6/15/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE:  11-0, 6/23/15
           AYES:  Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,  
            McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  77-0, 4/30/15 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   Highways:  exit information signs


          SOURCE:    Town of Truckee


          DIGEST:  This bill requires Caltrans to permit the placement of  
          Business Logo Signing Program signs on Interstate 80 (I-80)  
          within, or at exits leading to, the City of Truckee, until  
          January 1, 2021.


          ANALYSIS: 

          Existing law: 

          1)Requires Caltrans to adopt rules and regulations for its  
            Business Logo Signing Program, which allows signs near freeway  
            exits in rural areas to contain information about roadside  








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            businesses offering fuel, food, lodging, camping services,  
            approved 24-hour pharmacy services, or approved attractions.   
            These signs display up to six business logos for applicable  
            businesses.  Caltrans must provide equal access to all  
            business applicants and may not approve signs in urban areas  
            designated by the United States Bureau of the Census as having  
            a population of 5,000 or more.  Caltrans may not remove an  
            information sign that was placed before January 1, 2003, if  
            the population in an urban area grew to more than 5,000 but  
            not less than 10,000 people.   

          2)Creates a limited exception to the Business Logo Signing  
            Program and states that Caltrans shall, through January 1,  
            2021, allow the placement of information signs along State  
            Highway Route 65 within, or at exits leading up to, the City  
            of Lincoln.  Caltrans must also report to the Senate and  
            Assembly Transportation Committees before January 1, 2020, on  
            the implementation of the exception, and offer any  
            recommendations for extending the exception period and whether  
            or not the authorization for the Business Logo Signing Program  
            should be expanded to urban areas with populations of 5,000 or  
            more.

          This bill creates another exemption by requiring Caltrans to  
          permit information signs to be placed on I-80 within, or at  
          exits leading to, the City of Truckee.  The authorization in  
          this bill shall apply only to incorporated areas with a  
          population density of less than one person per acre surrounded  
          entirely by land of the Tahoe National Forest.


          Comments


          Purpose of the bill.  Around 2008, Caltrans removed at least  
          eight business logo signs in the Truckee area following  
          construction of the Highway 267 bypass and, according to the  
          town, businesses have seen a decrease in business.  AB 223 seeks  
          to replace those logo signs to inform travelers of businesses  
          that are available.

          City of Lincoln exception.  Last session, the Legislature passed  
          and the Governor signed AB 178 (Gaines, Chapter 131, Statutes of  
          2013) to help the City of Lincoln.  The city's business  







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          community had been negatively impacted by the opening of the  
          Lincoln Bypass the year before, because it diverted traffic from  
          the historic downtown and its fuel and food service providers.   
          Lincoln is not otherwise eligible to participate in the business  
          logo program because its population exceeds the definition of  
          rural.  

          AB 178 established a limited exception to the Business Logo  
          Signing Program by allowing business logo signs along State  
          Route 65 until January 1, 2021 and required Caltrans to provide  
          a report on or before January 1, 2020.  That report shall  
          include recommendations as to whether or not the business logo  
          program should be expanded, and if so, in what ways.   

          Why Truckee?  According to the source, the Town of Truckee,  
          Truckee is a town deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,  
          surrounded by dense forest and national park land.  This  
          national forest land precludes private business signage for  
          miles leading into the town.  Truckee is a large incorporated  
          area with fewer than .69 people per acre (spread over 33 square  
          miles) and the last full-service opportunity before leaving the  
          state (25 miles from the next town in Nevada).  The source  
          believes that informing drivers will assist public safety at  
          night or during winter driving conditions with chain  
          requirements and snow removal equipment.  

          Truckee had logo signs on I-80 until 2008 when Caltrans removed  
          the signs and replaced them with generic fuel, lodging, and food  
          signs, because the population did not meet the definition of  
          rural.  In fact, Truckee's population never met the rural  
          threshold, and it is not clear why the business logo signs were  
          authorized to begin with.  Since then, the source states that  
          businesses in Truckee, particularly those not located in  
          historic downtown, saw a significant drop in business.  Some  
          hotels saw a 20% drop-off in bed nights, which greatly impacts  
          the business and town revenues.  

          The Lincoln exception was intended to ease the transition for  
          the city's businesses following the construction of the newly  
          opened bypass for a limited time period.  The signs near Truckee  
          were taken down in 2008, during the great recession, more than  
          seven years ago.  Caltrans did not merely take down existing  
          signs; Caltrans replaced those signs with generic blue signs  
          with fuel, lodging, and food symbols that provide travelers with  







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          information about the location of services.  Additionally, the  
          source states that Truckee lost two major businesses, as those  
          businesses moved to Nevada.  As a result, this bill seems less  
          designed to assist travelers than to help businesses in an  
          economically struggling town advertise in the public  
          right-of-way.  


          Related Legislation


          AB 179 (Gaines, Chapter 131, Statutes of 2013) authorized a  
          limited exception to the Business Logo Signing Program for signs  
          along the State Route 65 within the City of Lincoln until  
          January 1, 2021.
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified7/6/15)


          Town of Truckee (source)
          Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce
          2 Truckee business owners



          OPPOSITION:   (Verified7/6/15)


          None received

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  77-0, 4/30/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,  
            Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,  
            Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,  
            Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,  
            Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,  
            Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,  
            Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,  







                                                                     AB 223  
                                                                    Page  5


            Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,  
            Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Campos, Chávez, Gomez

          Prepared by:Alison Dinmore / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
          7/7/15 16:21:07


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