BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1295
AUTHOR: Huff
AMENDED: March 29, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 18, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : Schoolbuses: advertisements.
SUMMARY
This bill permits school districts to authorize the placement of
commercial advertisements on the exterior of a schoolbus,
subject to specified restrictions.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes a school district to provide for the
transportation of pupils to and from school whenever in the
judgment of the board the transportation is advisable and good
reasons exist (Education Code � 39800). Furthermore, current
law authorizes the State Board of Education to adopt reasonable
regulations relating to the use of schoolbuses by school
districts; however the regulations may not govern the safe
operation of schoolbuses that shall be adopted instead by the
Department of the California Highway Patrol. (EC � 39831)
Current law prohibits school boards from adopting sponsored
educational materials unless the board makes a specific finding
that the use of the commercial material is appropriate. (EC �
60048)
Existing law includes specific safety requirements for
schoolbuses, such as flashing red light signal systems and
exterior markings that distinctly identify the vehicle. In
addition, the California Highway Patrol adopts rules and
regulations relating to the equipment, maintenance,
construction, design, color and operation of schoolbuses. These
regulations prescribe what portions of the bus exterior can be
black instead of yellow and what signifiers and messages are
required to be displayed.
(Vehicle Code � 27906).
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ANALYSIS
This bill permits school districts to authorize the placement of
commercial advertisements on the exterior of a schoolbus,
subject to the following restrictions:
1) Requires a school district to adopt polies and guidelines
in connection with the content of the advertising. At a
minimum, the district shall not enter into an agreement
with any person that would cause or permit any
advertisement to display or advertise material that does
any of the following:
a) Solicits alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or sexually
explicit material.
b) Is discriminatory in nature or content.
c) Implies or declares endorsement of the product or
service.
d) Is inappropriate for or insensitive to children
in the community.
e) Contains material that is political in nature or
relates to a political activity, campaign, or
candidate.
f) Contains material effecting the establishment of
religion.
g) Is false, misleading, deceptive, or promotes an
illegal activity or antisocial behavior.
1) Requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol to
adopt and enforce rules and regulations relating to the
design, placement, and size of the signage of the exterior
of a schoolbus, including a prohibition against signage
that does any of the following:
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a) Extends from the body of the schoolbus so as to
allow a handhold or poses a danger to pedestrians.
b) Covers any structural or sheet metal damage or
alteration.
c) Interferes with the operation of any door,
window, required lettering, lamp, reflector, or other
device.
d) Is placed on a side emergency door or the back of
the schoolbus.
e) Interferes with schoolbus identification.
f) Is digital or electronic.
2) Prohibits a schoolbus from having more than two
advertisements at a time and each advertisement shall not
cover more than 35 percent of the space available.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, in recent
years, school funding has been reduced significantly due to
the global recession and California's fiscal mismanagement.
Extracurricular activities have been cut, pupil
transportation threatened, and instruction time is on the
chopping block. We need to find additional sources of
revenue for schools outside the burdensome practices of
taxation and borrowing. Current state regulations bar
commercial advertising on the exterior of schoolbuses.
This bill would remove that restriction and allow school
districts to generate revenue by selling advertising space.
School districts would have discretion over whether to sell
such advertisements, as well as how to spend the resulting
revenue. This measure will help alleviate the financial
burden of schools that are experiencing severe budget cuts.
2) Safety concerns versus additional revenue - Is it worth it?
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As pointed out in the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee analysis:
a) The National Association of State Directors of
Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) maintains that
the distinct yellow color and markings of schoolbuses
have served as a visible reminder to motorists that
students are on board or nearby and extreme caution is
required. External advertisement could distract other
drivers and compromise these distinctive safety
features because they may displace them and are
designed to catch the attention of passing motorists.
b) Studies have shown, however, that any diversion
of a motorist's attention can lead to hazardous
driving. Recent studies by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration verify that inattention
and driver distraction cause a significant percentage
of crashes. NASDPTS argues that advertising on the
exterior of a schoolbus is specifically designed to
catch the attention of and distract passing motorists.
If drivers focus their attention on the advertisement
they might not notice that the schoolbus has stopped
or turned on its flashing lamps for crossing children.
Finally, California has been moving toward limiting
distractions for drivers on the road, one such example was
the passage of SB 1613 (Chapter 290, Statutes of 2006),
that prohibited the use of wireless phones while driving a
schoolbus or motor vehicle.
3) Have all other means for additional school revenue been
exhausted? For a number of years, the State Budget has
suffered from a soft economy, increased demand for state
services, and a lack of additional revenues. The 2011
Budget made major strides in reducing the out-year
structural deficit from $20 billion to about $5 billion.
However, the Governor failed to gain two-thirds legislative
support for his original balanced plan for voter-approved
taxes and spending cuts. Instead, the enacted 2011 Budget
relied primarily on major cuts in most areas of the budget.
As the Legislature debates the 2012 budget, the Governor,
in the absence of obtaining a two-thirds vote for
additional tax revenue is proposing a ballot initiative to
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temporarily increase taxes, while also reducing other areas
of budgetary expenditures. If successful, the additional
revenue would allow the state to undo approximately $2
billion in K-12 deferral payments, which would provide
school districts a large source of local discretionary
revenue.
4) Eight states allow advertising on schoolbuses . Though, the
NASDPTS opposes advertising on the exterior of schoolbuses,
this is only advisory to states. In 1994, Colorado was the
first state to allow advertising on schoolbuses. Since
then, Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico,
Tennessee, Texas, and Utah permit advertisements on
schoolbuses. Most of these states include statutory
language that prohibits advertisements for alcohol,
tobacco, religious organizations, or topics that are
political or sexual in nature. Generally these laws allow
local school boards to have final approval of advertising
content. In addition, each state has its own regulations
regarding size and location of ads.
5) School children are a captive audience . The National
Education Policy Center points out that researchers
generally agree that thinking critically requires
abilities, such as problem-solving, decision-making,
inductive inference-making, divergent thinking, evaluative
thinking and reasoning. According to the research
literature, critical thinking is best cultivated in a
school environment that encourages students to ask
questions and develop habits that enable them to transfer
the critical thinking skills they learn in class to other
unrelated situations.
Would schoolbus advertisement promote passive thinking by
children, and not provide opportunities for critical
analytical thinking that our current educational standards
promote?
6) Potential freedom of speech issues . The National
Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation
Services points out "while no lawsuits have been filed on
the issue of advertising on schoolbuses, there have been
cases that may have applicability to the issue of
controlling the content of advertising on schoolbuses." As
drafted, the bill attempts to place prohibition criteria on
the types of advertisements permitted; however, it is not
unreasonable to assume that every conceivable type of
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advertisement that may be considered offensive or
inappropriate can be taken into account, or in the
alternative justify the resulting limitation of speech.
This reality may lead to unexpected or unwanted legal
challenges and costs.
7) Transportation and Housing Committee . This measure, as
currently amended, passed Transportation and Housing
Committee on March 27, on a 7-0 vote.
8) Prior legislation .
AB 2524 (Miller, 1996) authorized school districts to sell
advertising space on the outside of schoolbuses for the
purpose of generating revenue for the school district. This
measure failed passage on Assembly Floor.
AB 2930 (Goldsmith, 1994) would have allowed a school
district to affix a zero crime tolerance bumper sticker to
schoolbuses. This measure failed passage in the Assembly
Transportation Committee.
SUPPORT
Cal Tax
Southern Humboldt Unified School District
OPPOSITION
California Association of School Transportation Officials