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)
AB 1373
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319-2081