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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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |10-2 |(September 1, 2011) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
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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.
AB 1298
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6)Include provisions to avoid chaptering out portions of SB 565
(DeSaulnier).
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Authorized a local jurisdiction, by ordinance to establish a
minimum distance that a vehicle must be moved to remain in
compliance with the 72-hour parking restriction.
2)Authorized a local jurisdiction to impound a vehicle if it is not
moved the distance specified by the local ordinance.
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.
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 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
AB 1298
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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 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319- 2093
FN: 0002556