BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1298
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1298 (Blumenfield)
As Amended July 12, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |59-11|(May 9, 2011) |SENATE: |36-3 |(August 18, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Expands the ability of local governments to regulate
advertising on motorized and non-motorized vehicles on public
streets.
The Senate amendments :
1)Alter the definition of "mobile billboard advertising display"
to include a device or bicycle that carries, pulls, or
transports a sign or billboard for advertising purposes.
2)Restate earlier provisions of the bill that authorize local
jurisdictions to establish, by ordinance or resolution, a
minimum distance that mobile billboard advertising displays
must be moved after a specified time period.
3)Provide that vehicles with permanently affixed signs for
decoration, identification, or display are excluded from the
requirement, by ordinance or resolution, to be moved a minimum
distance after a specified period of time.
4)Authorize a local jurisdiction to provide notice of ordinances
or resolutions regulating mobile billboards by issuing a
warning citation that subsequent violations may be subject to
penalties in lieu of posting signs regarding the ordinance or
resolution.
5)Provide for the impoundment and release of a mobile billboards
left standing on roadways in violation of local ordinances.
6)Include provisions to avoid chaptering out portions of SB 565
(DeSaulnier).
EXISTING LAW :
AB 1298
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1)Specifies that vehicles may be removed from public and private
roadways, under certain circumstances.
2)Specifies that a vehicle left standing on a highway for 72 or
more consecutive hours may be removed by a peace officer.
3)Permits local authorities to enact, by ordinance or
resolution, prohibitions or restrictions on the stopping,
parking, or standing of vehicles, including, on certain
streets or highways, or portions thereof, during all or
certain hours of the day.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The author has described a situation in Los Angeles
where vehicles are left parked along roadways for extended
periods of time. As the 72-hour time limit approaches (the time
after which a local authority may remove a vehicle), drivers
move the vehicles, usually only a short distance, and leave them
again for just under 72 hours. The author notes that this
happens repeatedly, resulting in vehicles remaining parked on
public roadways indefinitely. While the vehicles are cited,
they cannot, according to state law, be removed until they have
remained in place for 72 or more consecutive hours. This
practice has become common and is frustrating to local law
enforcement and citizens who report that these vehicles take up
available on-street parking, impair visibility, and often become
an attractive nuisance for vandals.
The author states that, typically, local jurisdictions would be
allowed to address this problem through the issuance of a local
ordinance specifying the distance a vehicle must be moved;
however, a recent California Supreme Court decision (O'Connell
v. City of Stockton (2007) 41 Cal. 4th 1061) provided that local
regulations are preempted by state law from setting forth the
requirement that state law specifically authorize the
establishment of the local ordinance.
This bill seeks to establish the specific authority for the
local jurisdictions to enact ordinances establishing a minimum
distance a vehicle must be moved. In doing so, local
AB 1298
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jurisdictions would have the express authority to establish a
reasonable distance that a car must be moved to help curb the
problem of long-term vehicle storage on roadways.
Amendments taken in the Senate expand the definition of a mobile
billboard advertising display to include adding bicycles
carrying, pulling, or transporting a sign or billboard and
provides an exclusion for advertising signs that are permanently
affixed to a vehicle for decoration, identification, or display
so long as they do not extend beyond the overall length, width,
or height of the vehicle.
The bill authorizes a local jurisdiction to provide notice of
ordinances or resolutions regulating mobile billboards by
issuing a warning citation that subsequent violations may be
subject to penalties in lieu of posting signs regarding the
ordinance or resolution. The bill also includes provision for
impoundment and release of mobile billboards that are cited in
accordance with local ordinances and resolutions, including the
requirement for payment of fees, fines, or penalties and towing
and storage costs.
This bill includes provisions to avoid chaptering out portions
of SB 565 (DeSaulnier).
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093
FN: 0001691