BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1373


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          Date of Hearing:  May 13, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          1373 (Santiago) - As Introduced February 27, 2015


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          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:










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          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  








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            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)  








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          319-2081