BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1298
Page 1
Date of Hearing: September 1, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1298 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: July 12, 2011
SUBJECT : Parking restrictions
SUMMARY : Expands the ability of local governments to regulate
advertising on motorized and non-motorized vehicles on public
streets. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines a "mobile billboard advertising display" to include a
device or bicycle that carries, pulls, or transports a sign or
billboard for advertising purposes.
2)Repeals and recasts provisions regarding the establishment of
local ordinances.
3)Authorizes local jurisdictions to establish ordinances or
resolutions regulating mobile billboards, including the
removal, the establishment of a minimum distance that the
billboard must be moved, and penalties.
4)Provides for the impoundment and release of a mobile
billboards left standing on roadways in violation of local
ordinances.
5)Exempts advertising signs that are painted directly upon or
are permanently affixed to the body of a motor vehicle for
permanent decoration, identification, or display as long as
the advertising sign does not extend beyond the overall
length, width, or height of the vehicle.
6)Includes provisions to avoid chaptering out portions of SB 565
(DeSaulnier).
EXISTING LAW :
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.
AB 1298
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The author has described a situation in Los Angeles
where vehicles with advertising displays (mobile billboards) 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 mobile billboards remaining parked on public
roadways indefinitely. While the mobile billboards 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 mobile billboards
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 mobile billboard must be moved. In doing so, local
jurisdictions would have the express authority to establish a
reasonable distance that a mobile billboard must be moved to
help curb the problem of long-term 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
AB 1298
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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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
League of California Cities
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093