BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1373|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1373
Author: Santiago (D), et al.
Amended: 8/2/16 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/28/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 71-6, 5/28/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Outdoor advertising: City of Los Angeles
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill provides an exemption from regulations of the
Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA or Act) for signs allowed by a City
of Los Angeles ordinance in relation to the number and location
of billboards in an area bounded by West 8th Street on the
northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10
on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, if
certain conditions are satisfied.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the OAA, which regulates the placement of
advertising displays adjacent to and within specified
distances of highways that are part of the national system of
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interstates, defense highways, and federal-aid highways.
2)Prohibits any advertising display from being placed or
maintained on property adjacent to a section of a freeway that
has been landscaped if the advertising display is designed to
be viewed primarily by persons traveling on the main-traveled
way of the landscaped freeway.
3)Provides for limited exemptions to the prohibition on
advertising along system and landscaped freeways, including
exemptions for signs advertising the property's sale or lease,
signs designating the premises or its owner, and signs
advertising goods or services manufactured or produced on the
property itself.
4)Provides that the OAA generally does not apply to on-premise
advertising displays, which include those advertising the sale
of the property upon which it is placed or that advertise the
business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or
sold on the property. Local government regulates on-premise
displays, except for certain safety requirements.
5)Allows a single advertising structure exemption for each of
several cities, including an exemption for advertising
on-street furniture in San Francisco, several billboards
situated on the grounds of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
complex, and structures within the Mid-City Recovery
Redevelopment Project Area within Los Angeles.
6)Requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to assess
penalties for a violation of the OAA, as specified. If an
advertising display is placed or maintained in a location that
does not conform to the relevant statutes or local ordinances,
and is not removed within 30 days of written notice from the
department, the city, or the county with land-use jurisdiction
over the property upon which the advertising display is
located, a penalty of $10,000 plus $100 for each day the
advertising display is placed or maintained after the
department sends written notice shall be assessed, and the
gross revenues received by the violator shall be disgorged.
Caltrans may also request recovery of its legal costs.
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7)Provides, by contractual agreement, for Caltrans to administer
the federal Outdoor Advertising Control (OAC) program, which
has restrictions similar to California's OAA program,
including maximum sign size, sign spacing, location,
illumination, and content. If the state fails to properly
administer the federal program, the state shall lose 10% of
its federal highway funding.
This bill:
1)Provides an exemption from regulations of the OAA for signs
allowed by a City of Los Angeles ordinance in relation to the
number and location of billboards in an area bounded by West
8th Street on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the
southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110
on the northwest.
2)Requires the City of Los Angeles ordinance to provide for all
of the following:
a) Maximum number of signs and total signage allowed.
b) Maximum individual signage area.
c) Minimum sign separation.
d) Illumination restrictions.
e) Illuminated sign hours of operation.
1)Prohibits the advertising display from advertising products,
goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually
explicit material.
2)Requires that the advertising displays authorized by this bill
must be approved by either Caltrans or the Federal Highway
Administration (FHA) prior to placement.
3)Is an urgency bill.
Comments
1)Purpose. According to the author, the purpose of this bill is
to allow the use of revenue generating advertising displays
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within a small area of downtown Los Angeles. The author
believes this bill will spur the construction of needed hotels
in support of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Sports
and Entertainment District, and the City's financial district.
This bill also empowers the City of Los Angeles to control
its urban streetscape and interface with the state highways
bisecting its urban core, according to the author.
2)Where? The area affected by this bill is described by the
author as a small area of downtown Los Angeles known as the
Avenue of the Angels. It encompasses an area approximately
eight blocks long adjacent to State Route 110 and Interstate
10. This area is a major entertainment and commercial area
encompassing the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Staples
Center, the Nokia Theatre, and a Marriott hotel. The freeways
in this area are among the most heavily traveled in the state,
carrying about 20,000 cars per hour.
3)Conflicting goals. This bill creates a tension between the
desire of Los Angeles to raise funds from billboards to
support local development, and the responsibility of the state
to ensure driver safety through the administration of state
law and the federal OAC program. From the perspective of the
city, billboard revenue will be maximized with more signs that
attract the attention of drivers, whether through the number
of signs or their location, brightness, or attractive content.
From the perspective of the state, catchier signs distract
drivers, which will lead to more accidents and injury,
particularly along a heavily traveled freeway with numerous
merges, on-ramps, and off-ramps.
4)Caltrans enforcement. State law contains numerous billboard
restrictions intended to prevent compromising driver safety
and cluttering the freeway. These include restrictions on the
sign size, location, and proximity to similar signs, lighting,
and content. Many of these provisions are similar to those
contained in federal law, originally established in 1965
through the Lady Bird Johnson Highway Beautification Act. In
1968, Caltrans entered into a contractual agreement with the
FHA to implement and enforce federal law. The penalty for
failure to enforce federal law is severe: loss of 10% of
federal highway funds, with the potential to apply the penalty
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retroactively. In the face of such penalties, it is not
surprising that Caltrans is doing a good job upholding its
obligations under the contract. In 2012, the FHA reviewed
Caltrans' effectiveness and was quite complimentary,
specifically noting significant improvement since the prior
FHA review. However, the review was not without suggestions
for improved enforcement.
5)Green light. In order to avoid misunderstandings, costly
litigation, and any potential for the state to lose federal
highway funds, this bill provides that the advertising
displays shall be preapproved by either Caltrans or the FHA.
This will provide some flexibility for Los Angeles while
ensuring that driver safety is not jeopardized by the
displays.
6)Local control, state responsibility. This bill allows Los
Angeles to develop its own billboard regulations, while the
state retains the responsibility for enforcing the specific
provisions of the federal OAC program. This gives Los Angeles
some flexibility, though that flexibility is constrained by
the federal OAC that restricts billboard spacing, location,
size, illumination, and content.
7)Speech. Some opponents raise concerns that the prohibition
against advertising firearms is unconstitutional. The
language in this bill contains the same content restrictions
as several prior bills, including SB 31 (Padilla, 2013), which
passed both houses of the Legislature without a "no" vote on
either floor (see Related/Prior Legislation below).
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 31 (Padilla, Chapter 542, Statutes of 2013) authorized
advertising displays for products, goods, or services sold at
specified arenas.
SB 694 (Correa, Chapter 545, Statutes of 2013) authorized
advertising displays at public transit terminals.
AB 2339 (Solorio, Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008) authorized
advertising displays at publicly owned sports arenas.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/10/16)
Greenland USA
Hanjin International Corporation
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/10/16)
California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees
Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight
Endangered Habitats League
Firearms Policy Coalition
Scenic San Diego
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 71-6, 5/28/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu,
Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Chávez, Beth Gaines, Harper, Irwin, Obernolte
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bloom, Grove, Nazarian
Prepared by:Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/10/16 15:49:12**** END ****
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