BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1373 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 1373 (Santiago) - As Introduced February 27, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Governmental Organization |Vote:|19 - 1 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill, as proposed to be amended, exempts from regulation under the Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA) advertising displays allowed by a City of Los Angeles ordinance in relation to the number and location in an area bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate Highway 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, subject to certain conditions. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 1373 Page 2 Likely initial Special Fund costs to the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) of less than $50,000 to review and revise existing regulations, conduct any coordination activities, review ordinances, and inspect new advertising displays and applications; likely ongoing SF costs of less than $25,000 to CalTrans to annually inspect advertising displays and applications. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill allows the use of revenue-generating advertising displays within an area of Downtown Los Angeles with the consent of the city. The area includes new hotel, entertainment, sports, and convention facilities within or adjacent to the existing LA Live project, Staples Center, and Los Angeles Convention Center. The author believes this bill will help accelerate construction activity of several significant projects in the designated area. The author believes the exemption from the OAA is appropriate because the proposed area is highly urban and contains a dense collection of convention, entertainment, sports, and hotel uses. The measure permits the City of Los Angeles to retain local control and authority to determine the number, location, type, and style of advertising displays. The sponsors assert the ability of entertainment developers to generate revenue from near-freeway advertising displays is an important economic driver for these projects. 2)Outdoor Advertising Act. The OAA regulates the placement of advertising displays along primary highways, landscaped freeways, and similar roads. The OAA sets standards for advertising structures, including size and location, and is administered by CalTrans. Local governments may enact additional restrictions on the use and placement of AB 1373 Page 3 advertising displays, but are not permitted to create exemptions from the OAA. The OAA also generally conforms to federal laws, including the Highway Beautification Act. 3)Interaction with Federal Signage Rules. The federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965 requires states to enforce provisions regarding the placement and maintenance of outdoor advertising displays along interstate and national highways. California enforces these provisions under the terms of the compact created with the federal government in 1967. Under federal statute, the federal government may reduce California's allocation of federal transportation funds as a penalty for state violations of those rules. In the most recent annual allocation, California received approximately $3.5 billion of federal transportation funds. AB 1373 contains a provision that revokes the exemption from OAA if at any time the state receives a notice from the US Department of Transportation indicating the placement or operation of any advertising display violates federal rules and will result in a reduction in federal-aid highway funds. 4)Prior Legislation. This bill is patterned off of SB 31 (Padilla), Statutes of 2013, which created an exemption from the OAA for certain advertising displays erected near professional sports arenas, subject to local control and specified local advertising ordinances. Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) AB 1373 Page 4 319-2081