The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in specific geographic areas in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if an advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require the department, before the advertising display may be placed, to determine or to request the Federal Highway Administration to determine that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with any federal law, regulation, or agreement between the state and a federal agency or department.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in specific geographic areas in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if an advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require the department, before the advertising display may be placed, to determine or to request the Federal Highway Administration to determine that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with any federal law, regulation, or agreement between the state and a federal agency or department.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in a specific geographic area areas in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if an advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require the department, before the advertising display may be placed, to determine or to request the Federal Highway Administration to determine that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with any federal law, regulation, or agreement between the state and a federal agency or department.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in a specific geographic area in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if the an advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require that, if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines. The bill would require the department, before the advertising display may be placed, to determine or to request the Federal Highway Administration to determine that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with any federal law, regulation, or agreement between the state and a federal agency or department.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in a specific geographic area in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if the advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require that, if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in a specific geographic area in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if the advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require that that, if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

The Outdoor Advertising Act provides for the regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising displays, as defined, within view of public highways. The act exempts from certain of its provisions advertising displays that advertise the business conducted or services rendered or goods produced or sold on the property upon which the display is placed, as specified.

This bill would exempt from those provisions of the act advertising displays located in a specific geographic area in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements, including the adoption of, and compliance with, an ordinance by the City of Los Angeles. The bill would impose certain conditions if the advertising display authorized by this bill is a message center display. The bill would require that if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines.

The bill would make the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bills requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold the department harmless if the city fails to do so.

This bill would also make findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 1373

Author:(Santiago)

As Amended Ver:August 19, 2016

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: G.O.

SUMMARY: Provides an exemption from regulations of the Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA) for specific geographic areas in the City of Los Angeles if those displays meet specified conditions and requirements. Specifically, this bill:

1. Exempts from specific provisions of the OAA, any advertising display located in the geographic area in the City of Los Angeles bounded by W. 8th Street on the northeast, S. Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, or to any advertising display located in the geographic area in the City of Los Angeles on the westerly side of State Route 110 bounded by West 8th Place, James M. Wood Boulevard, and Golden Avenue, if all of the following conditions are met:
   1. The advertising display is authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district, adopted by the City of Los Angeles that regulates advertising displays by identifying the specific displays or establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, all of the following:
      1. Number of signs and total signage area allowed.
      2. Maximum individual signage area.
      3. Minimum sign separation.
      4. Illumination restrictions and regulations, including signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.
      5. Illuminated sign hours of operation.
2. Requires at least 500 feet between any two advertising displays located on the same side of the freeway unless the advertising displays are separated by buildings or other obstructions in a manner that only one of the advertising displays is visible from any given location on the freeway.
3. Provides the above spacing requirement in does not apply to an advertising display that advertises only the business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced and sold upon the property upon which the advertising display is located.
4. Specifies that the owner of the advertising display has submitted to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) a copy of the ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles authorizing the advertising display and identification of the provisions of the ordinance required, as defined and the department has certified that the ordinance meets designed minimum requirements.
5. Provides the advertising display will not advertise products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.
6. Provides this bill would not limit the City of Los Angeles from adopting ordinances prohibiting or further restricting the size, number, or type of advertising displays permitted by this legislation.
7. Provides that if the advertising display is a message center, the owner of the display shall do one of the following:
   1. Makes the message center display available on a space-available basis for use by Caltrans or the Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for public service messages, including Emergency Alert System (Amber Alert) messages, as defined, and messages containing, among other things, reports of commute times, drunk driving awareness messages, reports of accidents of a serious nature, and emergency disaster communications.
   2. Makes a message center display not subject to the provision that is under the control of the owner of the advertising display available on a space-available basis for public service messages in a location acceptable to Caltrans and CHP.
   3. Provides funding to Caltrans for the installation of a message center display to accommodate those public service messages, which may include funding as part of mitigation in connection with the approval of development of the property on which the message center display is located by the City of Los Angeles.
8. Requires Caltrans, before the advertising display may be placed, to determine or to request the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to determine that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with any federal law, regulation, or agreement between the state and a federal agency or department.
9. Makes the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bill's requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold Caltrans harmless if the city fails to do so.
10. Makes findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the specified areas in the City of Los Angeles.

The Senate amendments

1. Require Caltrans, before the advertising display may be placed, to determine or to request the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to determine that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with any federal law, regulation, or agreement between the state and a federal agency or department.
2. Expand exempted area to include any advertising display located in the geographic area in the City of Los Angeles on the westerly side of State Route 110 bounded by West 8th Place, James M. Wood Boulevard, and Golden Avenue.
3. Require at least 500 feet between any two advertising displays located on the same side of the freeway unless the advertising displays are separated by buildings or other obstructions in a manner that only one of the advertising displays is visible from any given location on the freeway.
4. Provide the above spacing requirement in does not apply to an advertising display that advertises only the business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced and sold upon the property upon which the advertising display is located.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes OAA, which regulates the placement of advertising displays adjacent to and within specified distances of highways that are part of the national system of interstate and 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. The OAA, however, only applies to signs that are located within 660 feet of the right-of-way of federal-aid interstate and primary highways.
3. Provides for limited exemptions and specified exceptions 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. 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 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 provisions of this chapter or local ordinances, and is not removed within thirty days of written notice from the department or 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.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

COMMENTS: Purpose of the bill: According to the author, this bill proposes to allow for the use of revenue-generating advertising displays within a small area of Downtown Los Angeles with the City of Los Angeles consent.

The author's office states, according to a recent report, the City of Los Angeles has lost $5 billion in economic development over the last four years alone due to a lack of hotel rooms and an outdated Los Angeles Convention Center. Studies have shown that an additional two to three thousand-hotel rooms together with hotel facilities such as meeting and banquet rooms are needed to fully support the Convention Center.

According to the information provided by the author, the Los Angeles' Metropolis Project (Project) is a 6.3-acre, $1 billion development adjacent to LA Live that has taken nearly three decades to come to fruition. The development, which broke ground in the summer of 2014, will be composed of four towers: 1) an 18-story boutique hotel – Hotel Indigo – set to open in October 2016; 2) a 38-story residential tower; 3) a 40-story residential tower; and 4) a 52-story residential tower.

The Project is expected to bring $156.7 million in tax revenue into the City over the next 25 years, 20,000 construction jobs over the next four or five years, and 500 permanent jobs upon completion. The project will also add 350 hotel rooms (with meeting and event facilities), substantial restaurant and retail space, as well as 1,560 residential units to the Convention Center area. In addition, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) recently announced a 755-room expansion of its Marriott Hotel located at LA Live between the Convention Center and the Metropolis Project.

The author states, this measure will spur the construction of needed hotels in support of the City's Convention Center, the Sports & Entertainment District, and the Project's link to the City's financial district. It also empowers the City of Los Angeles to control its urban streetscape and interface with the state highways bisecting its urban core. With the completion of the Project, the expansion and revitalization of the Convention Center, and the addition of hotel rooms in the Sports and Entertainment District, over the next several years, the area covered by this bill will become a central tourist, convention, sports, and entertainment destination for people from all over the world.

The author points out, this bill only affects signage within the few blocks east of Interstate 110, north of Interstate 10, south of 8th Street, and west of Figueroa Street in the City of Los Angeles. These blocks are very different from other freeway-facing areas in California in that they are highly urbanized and contain a dense proliferation of convention, entertainment, sports, and hotel uses. This measure retains local control by allowing the City of Los Angeles to determine the amounts and types of safe signage to be placed at its gateway. It also allows the City of Los Angeles to require public benefits that enhance traffic safety and aesthetics in the streets within and surrounding the area.

The author points out that this bill additionally requires any corresponding ordinance within the City of Los Angeles to include protections to prevent signage from becoming overly distracting, misleading, or disruptive. This corresponds with similar limitations set forth in the OAA. For large developments – especially those that fall within the sports and entertainment industries – the ability to generate revenue via the use of near-freeway signage for off-site sponsors dramatically decreases the overhead costs of construction projects to taxpayers.

The author concludes that this bill is an important step towards ensuring that current and future developments within the revitalized Downtown Los Angeles area will be able to tap into this increasingly critical financing source to backfill the decrease in public funding available for such purposes.

Background:

Outdoor Advertising Act: The OAA regulates the placement of advertising displays (i.e., billboards) and signs along interstate or primary highways, landscaped freeways and similar specified highways. The OAA must also generally conform to various federal laws, including the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 United States Code Section (USC) 131 et seq.).

The OAA sets standards for the structures, including their size, identification and location, and requires compliance with application procedures and conditions administered by Caltrans. The OAA 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.

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.

While state and federal law generally regulates billboards and similar advertising displays, local governments may also impose restrictions equal to or greater than any restriction imposed by state law, but local governments may not allow a display that is in violation of state law. Local governments are also entitled to a portion of fees and fines under the state law, and they may also require advertisers to obtain licenses and permits, in addition to any licenses required by state law.

The OAA provides for general exemptions and specified exceptions to the prohibition on advertising along 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. In addition, since 1995, a number of bills have created exemptions for specific cities, including an exemption for advertising on "street furniture" in San Francisco, five signs situated on the property of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex, one sign each in the cities of Costa Mesa and Richmond, and four signs within the Mid-City Recovery Redevelopment Project Area within Los Angeles.

Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965: The Highway Beautification Act (HBA) was created to protect the public investment, promote the safety and recreational value of public travel, and to preserve the natural beauty of highways in the nation.

HBA specifies that states have the responsibility to enforce provisions regarding the placement and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices along the Interstate and National Highway System. The state of California enforces the provisions of federal law through a compact that was developed between the state and the federal government in 1967. Federal law also includes a penalty for states that violate HBA by reducing all federal highway transportation funds by a designated percentage.

Prior legislation: SB 31 (Padilla), Chapter 542, Statutes of 2013. Recasts an arena advertising exception to exempt from the OAA specified advertising displays authorized before January 1, 2019, by local ordinance, at a venue with a capacity of 15,000 seats or more that is capable of providing a permanent venue for professional sports. In essence, the bill allows for local control while establishing statewide guidelines for advertising displays at professional sports facilities and arenas.

SB 684 (Hill), Chapter 544, Statutes of 2013. Amended the redevelopment agency (RDA) exemption to OAA to reflect the elimination of redevelopment agencies.

SB 694 (Correa), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2013. Exempted, from the OAA, advertising displays at a publicly owned multimodel transit facility (MTF) that is to serve as a station for the high-speed train system, as specified, and requires revenues from the advertising display to be used to support the construction, operation, and maintenance of the MTF.

AB 2566 (Hill) of 2012. Would have provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an advertising display located on State Route 1, in the County of San Mateo, if certain conditions are satisfied. (This bill died in the Senate.)

SB 402 (Vargas) of 2011. Would have provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an advertising display located within 1,800 feet of the intersection of State Highway Routes 8 and 111 in the County of Imperial if certain conditions are satisfied. (This bill died in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 2756 (Blumenfield), Chapter 615, Statutes of 2010. Defines "mobile billboard advertising display" and allows a local authority to regulate these displays.

AB 2339 (Solorio), Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008. Expanded the definition of an "on premise" display to include those displays advertising products, goods, or services sold on the premises of an arena of at least 5,000 seats and is located on public land, provided certain conditions were met.

AB 1117 (Benoit) of 2007, would have deemed an advertising display erected by a city or county to advertise businesses operating within a redevelopment agency project area, or within a business improvement district whose boundaries partly or wholly overlap those of the redevelopment agency project area, to be on the premises at any location within 1,000 feet of the legal boundaries of the redevelopment agency's project area if the display meets certain conditions. (Died - Never heard in Senate Local Government Committee)

SB 563 (Ridley-Thomas) of 2007, would have deleted the "rebuttable presumption" in current law that deems those advertising displays that were unlawfully erected as lawful if the sign owner had not received notice that the display was unlawful within five years of the display being erected. This bill also would have deleted the requirement that entities requiring the removal of unlawfully erected signs pay sign owners just compensation to do so. (Died in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 1499 (Benoit) of 2006, would have created an exemption to the Act, to permit the City of Riverside to erect an outdoor advertising display along Highway 91 to promote economic activity for the Riverside Plaza. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 801 (Jones) of 2006, would have created an exemption from the OAA for one sign in the County of Sacramento. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 2441 (Klehs) of 2006, would have authorized an advertising display in the redevelopment zone of the City of San Leandro subject to specified conditions. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 1518 (J. Horton) of 2006, would have exempted, from the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, any billboard located on property owned by the Lennox School District, subject to certain conditions. (Died pending concurrence in the Assembly)

AB 762 (Núñez), Chapter 725, Statutes of 2003. Created an exemption to the OAA by allowing the National Latino Arts Council to place an advertisement on the roof of a not-for-profit educational academy.

SB 190 (Perata), Chapter 54, Statutes of 2001. Exempted from the OAA the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, up to five advertising structures or signs (billboards) used to support the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Analysis Prepared by: Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531 FN: 0004905

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1373

Author: Santiago (D), et al.

Amended: 8/19/16 in Senate

Vote: 21

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, and a small, adjacent parcel if certain conditions are satisfied.

Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 add a triangular parcel, which is approximately 120 feet on each side and adjacent to the area identified in the bill, that houses an apprenticeship facility; codify sign spacing restrictions that are substantially similar to the restrictions contained in the existing contractual agreement between the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to administer the federal Outdoor Advertising Control (OAC); and delete the urgency.

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 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 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.
7. Provides, by contractual agreement, for Caltrans to administer the 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, and for an adjacent triangular parcel in the City of Los Angeles Bounded by West 8th Place, James M. Wood Boulevard, and Golden Avenue.
2. Requires the City of Los Angeles ordinance to provide for all of the following:
3. Maximum number of signs and total signage allowed
4. Maximum individual signage area
5. Minimum sign separation
6. Illumination restrictions
7. Illuminated sign hours of operation
8. Requires that for the areas described in the bill, the advertising displays shall be at least 500 feet apart, unless separated by buildings or other obstructions, under specified conditions.
9. Prohibits the advertising display from advertising products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.
10. Requires that the advertising displays authorized by this bill must be approved by either Caltrans or the FHA prior to placement.

Comments

1. Purpose. According to the author, the purpose of this bill is to allow the use of revenue-generating advertising displays 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 area added by the recent Senate Floor amendments is a relatively small triangular parcel about 120 feet on each side that houses an apprenticeship facility. That parcel previously hosted an advertising display which has since been removed.

The freeways in this area are among the most heavily traveled in the state, carrying about 20,000 cars per hour.

1. 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.
2. 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 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/22/16)

Greenland USA

Hanjin International Corporation

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/22/16)

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

8/22/16 22:40:06

**** END ****

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1373

Author:

:

Vote:

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:

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 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.
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:
3. Maximum number of signs and total signage allowed.
4. Maximum individual signage area.
5. Minimum sign separation.
6. Illumination restrictions.
7. Illuminated sign hours of operation.
8. Prohibits the advertising display from advertising products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.
9. Requires that the advertising displays authorized by this bill must be approved by either Caltrans or the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) prior to placement.
10. 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 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 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.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/10/16)

Greenland USA

Hanjin International Corporation

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/10/16)

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:

8/10/16 15:49:12**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING

Senator Jim Beall, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 1373 Hearing Date: 6/28/16

SUBJECT: Outdoor advertising: City of Los Angeles

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 interstate, 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. 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 thirty days of written notice from the department or 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.
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:
3. Maximum number of signs and total signage allowed
4. Maximum individual signage area
5. Minimum sign separation
6. Illumination restrictions
7. Illuminated sign hours of operation
8. Prohibits the advertising display from advertising products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.
9. If the advertising display is subject to notice from the Federal Highway Administration that the operation of the display will result in the reduction of federal highway funds, the authorization of the display shall cease and the owner shall remove all advertising copy within 60 days.
10. This 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 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. The 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 Stables 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. Creating a conflict. This bill creates a conflict 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 Control 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, 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, onramps 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 Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to implement and enforce federal law. The penalty for failure to enforce federal law is severe: 10% of federal highway funds with the potential to apply the penalty 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. Permission, not forgiveness. The provision requiring removal of the advertising display if found in violation of the state’s contract with FHA (subdivision (b) of the bill) should be revised, as it could easily lead to wasted expenditures and costly litigation. This is because that provision only provides for after-the-fact enforcement. At that point, millions of dollars and months of time will have been spent on billboards which could be unusable if found in violation of federal law by Caltrans or the FHA. The penalties for illegal billboards are significant, including fines, disgorgement of profits, and legal fees. A more cost-effective process would be to obtain preapproval of the signs, from either Caltrans or the FHA, before they are erected. This was the process used in legislation authorizing billboards at the Oakland Coliseum. The author and committee may wish to revise the bill to reflect this more cost effective mechanism.
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. The bill provides for Los Angeles to hold Caltrans harmless if the city fails to enforce compliance with the legislation.
7. Whose sign? There have been concerns from the outdoor advertising industry about whether they will have an opportunity to compete to provide the advertising display and/or the content of that display. The author and the industry continue to discuss this issue.
8. Speech. Some opponents raise concerns that the prohibition against advertising firearms is unconstitutional. The language in the bill contains the same content restrictions as SB 31 (Padilla, Chapter 542 of 2013 – authorized advertising displays for products, goods, or services sold at specified arenas) which passed both houses of the Legislature without a “no” vote on either floor; SB 694 (Correa, Chapter 545 of 2013 – authorized advertising displays at public transit terminals), and AB 2339 (Solorio; Chapter 493 of 2008 – authorized advertising displays at publicly owned sports arenas).
9. Waiving committee policy. This committee has a policy not to hear bills which create specific exemptions from the Outdoor Advertising Act. The committee will need to waive its policy to hear this bill.

Related Legislation:

AB 400 (Alejo; Chapter 693 of 2015) — Required Caltrans, by June 30, 2016, to update its internal policies to allow displays of safety, transportation-related, and voting-related messages on changeable message signs, as defined, subject to approval by the United States Department of Transportation.

SB 31 (Padilla; Chapter 542 of 2013) — Allows for local control while establishing statewide guidelines for advertising displays at professional sports facilities and arenas.

SB 684 (Hill; Chapter 544 of 2013) — Amends the redevelopment agency exemption to the Outdoor Advertising Act to reflect the elimination of redevelopment agencies.

SB 190 (Perata; Chapter 54 of 2001) — Exempted from the OAA the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, up to five advertising structures or signs (billboards) used to support the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Assembly Votes

Floor: 1-6

Appropriations: 16-1

G.Org.: 19-1

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

June 22, 2016.)

SUPPORT:

Greenland USA

Hanjin International Corporation

OPPOSITION:

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees

Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight

Firearms Policy Coalition

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1373

Author:(Santiago)

As Amended Ver:May 14, 2015

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Provides an exemption from regulations of the Outdoor Advertising Act (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 Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, subject to certain conditions. Specifically, this bill:

1. Exempts from specific provisions of the OAA, any advertising display located in the geographic area in the City of Los Angeles bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, if all of the following conditions are met:

   1. The advertising display is authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district, adopted by the City of Los Angeles that regulates advertising displays by identifying the specific displays or establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, all of the following:

      1. Number of signs and total signage area allowed.

      2. Maximum individual signage area.

      3. Minimum sign separation.

      4. Illumination restrictions and regulations, including signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.

      5. Illuminated sign hours of operation.

2. Specifies that the owner of the advertising display has submitted to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) a copy of the ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles authorizing the advertising display and identification of the provisions of the ordinance required, as defined and the department has certified that the ordinance meets designed minimum requirements.

3. Provides the advertising display will not advertise products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.

4. Provides this bill would not limit the City of Los Angeles from adopting ordinances prohibiting or further restricting the size, number, or type of advertising displays permitted by this legislation.

5. Provides that if the advertising display is a message center, the owner of the display shall do one of the following:

   1. Makes the message center display available on a space-available basis for use by Caltrans or the Department of the California Highway Patrol for public service messages, including Emergency Alert System (Amber Alert) messages, as defined, and messages containing, among other things, reports of commute times, drunk driving awareness messages, reports of accidents of a serious nature, and emergency disaster communications.

   2. Makes a message center display not subject to the provision that is under the control of the owner of the advertising display available on a space-available basis for public service messages in a location acceptable to Caltrans and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

   3. Provides funding to Caltrans for the installation of a message center display to accommodate those public service messages, which may include funding as part of mitigation in connection with the approval of development of the property on which the message center display is located by the City of Los Angeles.

6. Provides that if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines.

7. Makes the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bill's requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold Caltrans harmless if the city fails to do so.

8. Makes findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes OAA, which regulates the placement of advertising displays adjacent to and within specified distances of highways that are part of the national system of interstate and 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. The OAA, however, only applies to signs that are located within 660 feet of the right-of-way of federal-aid interstate and primary highways.

3. Provides for limited exemptions and specified exceptions 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. 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 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 provisions of this chapter or local ordinances, and is not removed within 30 days of written notice from the department or 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.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, likely initial Special Fund costs to the Caltrans of less than $50,000 to review and revise existing regulations, conduct any coordination activities, review ordinances, and inspect new advertising displays and applications; likely ongoing Special Fund costs of less than $25,000 to Caltrans to annually inspect advertising displays and applications.

COMMENTS:

Purpose of the bill: According to the author, this bill proposes to allow for the use of revenue-generating advertising displays within a small area of Downtown Los Angeles with the City of Los Angeles consent.

The author's office states, according to a recent report, the City of Los Angeles has lost $5 billion in economic development over the last four years alone due to a lack of hotel rooms and an outdated Los Angeles Convention Center. Studies have shown that an additional 2,000 to 3,000 hotel rooms together with hotel facilities such as meeting and banquet rooms are needed to fully support the Convention Center.

According to the information provided by the author, the Los Angeles' Metropolis Project (Project) is a 6.3-acre, $1 billion development adjacent to LA Live that has taken nearly three decades to come to fruition. The development, which broke ground in the summer of 2014, will be composed of four towers: 1) an 18-story boutique hotel – Hotel Indigo – set to open in October 2016; 2) a 38-story residential tower; 3) a 40-story residential tower; and 4) a 52-story residential tower.

The Project is expected to bring $156.7 million in tax revenue into the City of Los Angeles over the next 25 years, 20,000 construction jobs over the next four or five years, and 500 permanent jobs upon completion. The project will also add 350 hotel rooms (with meeting and event facilities), substantial restaurant and retail space, as well as 1,560 residential units to the Convention Center area. In addition, Anschutz Entertainment Group recently announced a 755-room expansion of its Marriott Hotel located at LA Live between the Convention Center and the Metropolis Project.

The author states, this bill will spur the construction of needed hotels in support of the Los Angeles City's Convention Center, the Sports & Entertainment District, and the Project's link to the Los Angeles City's financial district. It also empowers the City of Los Angeles to control its urban streetscape and interface with the state highways bisecting its urban core. With the completion of the Project, the expansion and revitalization of the Convention Center, and the addition of hotel rooms in the Sports and Entertainment District, over the next several years, the area covered by this bill will become a central tourist, convention, sports, and entertainment destination for people from all over the world.

The author points out, this bill only affects signage within the few blocks east of Interstate 110, north of Interstate 10, south of 8th Street, and west of Figueroa Street in the City of Los Angeles. These blocks are very different from other freeway-facing areas in California in that they are highly urbanized and contain a dense proliferation of convention, entertainment, sports, and hotel uses. This measure retains local control by allowing the City of Los Angeles to determine the amounts and types of safe signage to be placed at its gateway. It also allows the City of Los Angeles to require public benefits that enhance traffic safety and aesthetics in the streets within and surrounding the area.

The author points out that this bill additionally requires any corresponding ordinance within the City of Los Angeles to include protections to prevent signage from becoming overly distracting, misleading, or disruptive. This corresponds with similar limitations set forth in the OAA. For large developments – especially those that fall within the sports and entertainment industries – the ability to generate revenue via the use of near-freeway signage for off-site sponsors dramatically decreases the overhead costs of construction projects to taxpayers.

The author concludes that this bill is an important step towards ensuring that current and future developments within the revitalized Downtown Los Angeles area will be able to tap into this increasingly critical financing source to backfill the decrease in public funding available for such purposes.

Background:

OAA: The OAA regulates the placement of advertising displays (i.e., billboards) and signs along interstate or primary highways, landscaped freeways and similar specified highways. The OAA must also generally conform to various federal laws, including the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 United States Code Section 131 et seq.).

The OAA sets standards for the structures, including their size, identification and location, and requires compliance with application procedures and conditions administered by Caltrans. The OAA 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.

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.

While state and federal law generally regulates billboards and similar advertising displays, local governments may also impose restrictions equal to or greater than any restriction imposed by state law, but local governments may not allow a display that is in violation of state law. Local governments are also entitled to a portion of fees and fines under the state law, and they may also require advertisers to obtain licenses and permits, in addition to any licenses required by state law.

The OAA provides for general exemptions and specified exceptions to the prohibition on advertising along 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. In addition, since 1995, a number of bills have created exemptions for specific cities, including an exemption for advertising on "street furniture" in San Francisco, five signs situated on the property of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex, one sign each in the Cities of Costa Mesa and Richmond, and four signs within the Mid-City Recovery Redevelopment Project Area within Los Angeles.

Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965: The Highway Beautification Act (HBA) was created to protect the public investment, promote the safety and recreational value of public travel, and to preserve the natural beauty of highways in the nation.

HBA specifies that states have the responsibility to enforce provisions regarding the placement and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices along the Interstate and National Highway System. The State of California enforces the provisions of federal law through a compact that was developed between the state and the federal government in 1967. Federal law also includes a penalty for states that violate HBA by reducing all federal highway transportation funds by a designated percentage.

Policy issue: This bill might authorize the placement of an advertising sign that is non-conforming to both the specifics and intent of the OAA. It might extend further the precedent for legislative approval of exemptions to OAA. Exemptions for nonconforming and prohibited billboards and lighted signs along interstate or primary highways and landscaped freeways might undermine and render meaningless the provisions and intent of the OAA.

Prior legislation: SB 31 (Padilla), Chapter 542, Statutes of 2013, recasts an arena advertising exception to exempt from the OAA specified advertising displays authorized before January 1, 2019, by local ordinance, at a venue with a capacity of 15,000 seats or more that is capable of providing a permanent venue for professional sports. In essence, SB 31 allows for local control while establishing statewide guidelines for advertising displays at professional sports facilities and arenas.

SB 684 (Hill), Chapter 544, Statutes of 2013, amended the redevelopment agency (RDA) exemption to OAA to reflect the elimination of redevelopment agencies. (Held in the Senate Transportation Committee)

SB 694 (Correa), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2013, exempted, from the OAA, advertising displays at a publicly owned multi-model transit facility (MTF) that is to serve as a station for the high-speed train system, as specified, and requires revenues from the advertising display to be used to support the construction, operation, and maintenance of the MTF.

AB 2566 (Hill), of the 2011-12 Regular Session, would have provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an advertising display located on State Route 1, in the County of San Mateo, if certain conditions are satisfied.

SB 402 (Vargas), of the 2011-12 Regular Session, would have provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an advertising display located within 1,800 feet of the intersection of State Highway Routes 8 and 111 in the County of Imperial if certain conditions are satisfied. (Senate Rules Committee)

AB 2756 (Blumenfield), Chapter 615, Statutes of 2010, defines "mobile billboard advertising display" and allows a local authority to regulate these displays.

AB 2339 (Solorio), Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008, expanded the definition of an "on premise" display to include those displays advertising products, goods, or services sold on the premises of an arena of at least 5,000 seats and is located on public land, provided certain conditions were met.

AB 1117 (Benoit) of the 2007-08 Regular Session, would have deemed an advertising display erected by a city or county to advertise businesses operating within a redevelopment agency project area, or within a business improvement district whose boundaries partly or wholly overlap those of the redevelopment agency project area, to be on the premises at any location within 1,000 feet of the legal boundaries of the redevelopment agency's project area if the display meets certain conditions. (Held in Senate Local Government Committee)

SB 563 (Ridley-Thomas) of the 2007-08 Regular Session, would have deleted the "rebuttable presumption" in current law that deems those advertising displays that were unlawfully erected as lawful if the sign owner had not received notice that the display was unlawful within five years of the display being erected. SB 563 also would have deleted the requirement that entities requiring the removal of unlawfully erected signs pay sign owners just compensation to do so. (Held in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 1499 (Benoit) of the 2005-06 Regular Session, would have created an exemption to the OAA, to permit the City of Riverside to erect an outdoor advertising display along Highway 91 to promote economic activity for the Riverside Plaza. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 801 (Jones) of the 2005-06 Regular Session, would have created an exemption from the OAA for one sign in the County of Sacramento. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 2441 (Klehs) of 2006, would have authorized an advertising display in the redevelopment zone of the City of San Leandro subject to specified conditions. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 1518 (Jerome Horton) of the 2005-06 Regular Session, would have exempted, from the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, any billboard located on property owned by the Lennox School District, subject to certain conditions. (Moved to the inactive file in the Assembly)

AB 762 (Nuñez), Chapter 725, Statutes of 2003, created an exemption to the OAA by allowing the National Latino Arts Council to place an advertisement on the roof of a not-for-profit educational academy.

SB 190 (Perata), Chapter 54, Statutes of 2001, exempted from the OAA the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, up to five advertising structures or signs (billboards) used to support the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Analysis Prepared by: Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531 FN: 0000452

Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1373

Author:(Santiago) – As Introduced Ver:February 27, 2015

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill, as proposed to be amended, exempts from regulation under the Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA) advertising displays allowed by a City of Los Angeles ordinance in relation to the number and location in an area bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate Highway 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, subject to certain conditions.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Likely initial Special Fund costs to the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) of less than $50,000 to review and revise existing regulations, conduct any coordination activities, review ordinances, and inspect new advertising displays and applications; likely ongoing SF costs of less than $25,000 to CalTrans to annually inspect advertising displays and applications.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author, this bill allows the use of revenue-generating advertising displays within an area of Downtown Los Angeles with the consent of the city. The area includes new hotel, entertainment, sports, and convention facilities within or adjacent to the existing LA Live project, Staples Center, and Los Angeles Convention Center. The author believes this bill will help accelerate construction activity of several significant projects in the designated area.

The author believes the exemption from the OAA is appropriate because the proposed area is highly urban and contains a dense collection of convention, entertainment, sports, and hotel uses. The measure permits the City of Los Angeles to retain local control and authority to determine the number, location, type, and style of advertising displays. The sponsors assert the ability of entertainment developers to generate revenue from near-freeway advertising displays is an important economic driver for these projects.

2) Outdoor Advertising Act. The OAA regulates the placement of advertising displays along primary highways, landscaped freeways, and similar roads. The OAA sets standards for advertising structures, including size and location, and is administered by CalTrans. Local governments may enact additional restrictions on the use and placement of advertising displays, but are not permitted to create exemptions from the OAA. The OAA also generally conforms to federal laws, including the Highway Beautification Act.

3) Interaction with Federal Signage Rules. The federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965 requires states to enforce provisions regarding the placement and maintenance of outdoor advertising displays along interstate and national highways. California enforces these provisions under the terms of the compact created with the federal government in 1967. Under federal statute, the federal government may reduce California's allocation of federal transportation funds as a penalty for state violations of those rules. In the most recent annual allocation, California received approximately $3.5 billion of federal transportation funds.

AB 1373 contains a provision that revokes the exemption from OAA if at any time the state receives a notice from the US Department of Transportation indicating the placement or operation of any advertising display violates federal rules and will result in a reduction in federal-aid highway funds.

4) Prior Legislation. This bill is patterned off of SB 31 (Padilla), Statutes of 2013, which created an exemption from the OAA for certain advertising displays erected near professional sports arenas, subject to local control and specified local advertising ordinances.

Analysis Prepared by: Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

Adam Gray, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1373

Author:(Santiago) – As Introduced Ver:February 27, 2015

SUBJECT: Outdoor advertising: City of Los Angeles

SUMMARY: 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. Specifically, this bill:

1) Exempts from specific provisions of the OAA, any advertising display located in the geographic area in the City of Los Angeles bounded by W. 8th Street on the northeast, S. Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, if all of the following conditions are met:

a) The advertising display is authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district, adopted by the City of Los Angeles that regulates advertising displays by identifying the specific displays or establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, all of the following:

1. Number of signs and total signage area allowed.

2. Maximum individual signage area.

3. Minimum sign separation.

4. Illumination restrictions and regulations, including signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.

5. Illuminated sign hours of operation.

2) Specifies that the owner of the advertising display has submitted to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) a copy of the ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles authorizing the advertising display and identification of the provisions of the ordinance required, as defined and the department has certified that the ordinance meets designed minimum requirements.

3) Provides the advertising display will not advertise products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.

4) Provides this bill would not limit the City of Los Angeles from adopting ordinances prohibiting or further restricting the size, number, or type of advertising displays permitted by this legislation.

5) Provides that if the advertising display is a message center, the owner of the display shall do one of the following:

(a) Makes the message center display available on a space-available basis for use by Caltrans or the Department of the California Highway Patrol for public service messages, including Emergency Alert System (Amber Alert) messages, as defined, and messages containing, among other things, reports of commute times, drunk driving awareness messages, reports of accidents of a serious nature, and emergency disaster communications.

(b) Makes a message center display not subject to the provision that is under the control of the owner of the advertising display available on a space-available basis for public service messages in a location acceptable to Caltrans and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

(c) Provides funding to Caltrans for the installation of a message center display to accommodate those public service messages, which may include funding as part of mitigation in connection with the approval of development of the property on which the message center display is located by the City of Los Angeles.

6) Provides that if an advertising display is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, or other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal funds, as provided, authorization of the display would cease 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice, and would require the display owner to remove all advertising copy within that time or be subject to specified civil fines.

7) Makes the City of Los Angeles primarily responsible for ensuring that a display remains in compliance with the ordinance and the bill’s requirements, and would require the city to indemnify and hold Caltrans harmless if the city fails to do so.

8) Makes findings and declarations as to the need for a special statute relating to the City of Los Angeles.

EXISTING LAW:

1) Establishes OAA, which regulates the placement of advertising displays adjacent to and within specified distances of highways that are part of the national system of interstate and 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. The Act, however, only applies to signs that are located within 660 feet of the right-of-way of federal-aid interstate and primary highways.

3) Provides for limited exemptions and specified exceptions 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) 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 provisions of this chapter or local ordinances, and is not removed within thirty days of written notice from the department or the city or the county with land use jurisdiction over the property upon which the advertising display is located, a penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) plus one hundred dollars ($100) for each day the advertising display is placed or maintained after the department sends written notice shall be assessed.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Purpose of the bill: According to the author, this bill proposes to allow for the use of revenue-generating advertising displays within a small area of Downtown Los Angeles with the City of Los Angeles consent.

The author's office states, according to a recent report, the City of Los Angeles has lost $5 billion in economic development over the last four years alone due to a lack of hotel rooms and an outdated Los Angeles Convention Center. Studies have shown that an additional two to three thousand-hotel rooms together with hotel facilities such as meeting and banquet rooms are needed to fully support the Convention Center.

According to the information provided by the author, the Los Angeles’ Metropolis Project (Project) is a 6.3-acre, $1 billion development adjacent to LA Live that has taken nearly three decades to come to fruition. The development, which broke ground in the summer of 2014, will be composed of four towers: 1) an 18-story boutique hotel – Hotel Indigo – set to open in October 2016; 2) a 38-story residential tower; 3) a 40-story residential tower; and 4) a 52-story residential tower.

The Project is expected to bring $156.7 million in tax revenue into the City over the next 25 years, 20,000 construction jobs over the next four or five years, and 500 permanent jobs upon completion. The project will also add 350 hotel rooms (with meeting and event facilities), substantial restaurant and retail space, as well as 1,560 residential units to the Convention Center area. In addition, AEG recently announced a 755-room expansion of its Marriott Hotel located at LA Live between the Convention Center and the Metropolis Project.

The author states, this measure will spur the construction of needed hotels in support of the City’s Convention Center, the Sports & Entertainment District, and the Project’s link to the City’s financial district. It also empowers the City of Los Angeles to control its urban streetscape and interface with the state highways bisecting its urban core. With the completion of the Project, the expansion and revitalization of the Convention Center, and the addition of hotel rooms in the Sports and Entertainment District, over the next several years, the area covered by this bill will become a central tourist, convention, sports, and entertainment destination for people from all over the world.

The author points out, this bill only affects signage within the few blocks east of Interstate 110, north of Interstate 10, south of 8th Street, and west of Figueroa Street in the City of Los Angeles. These blocks are very different from other freeway-facing areas in California in that they are highly urbanized and contain a dense proliferation of convention, entertainment, sports, and hotel uses. This measure retains local control by allowing the City of Los Angeles to determine the amounts and types of safe signage to be placed at its gateway. It also allows the City of Los Angeles to require public benefits that enhance traffic safety and aesthetics in the streets within and surrounding the area.

The author points out that this bill additionally requires any corresponding ordinance within the City of Los Angeles to include protections to prevent signage from becoming overly distracting, misleading, or disruptive. This corresponds with similar limitations set forth in the OAA. For large developments – especially those that fall within the sports and entertainment industries – the ability to generate revenue via the use of near-freeway signage for off-site sponsors dramatically decreases the overhead costs of construction projects to taxpayers.

The author concludes that this bill is an important step towards ensuring that current and future developments within the revitalized Downtown Los Angeles area will be able to tap into this increasingly critical financing source to backfill the decrease in public funding available for such purposes.

Background:

Outdoor Advertising Act: The Act regulates the placement of advertising displays (i.e., billboards) and signs along interstate or primary highways, landscaped freeways and similar specified highways. The OAA must also generally conform to various federal laws, including the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 USC Section 131 et seq.).

The OAA sets standards for the structures, including their size, identification and location, and requires compliance with application procedures and conditions administered by the Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The Act 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.

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.

While state and federal law generally regulates billboards and similar advertising displays, local governments may also impose restrictions equal to or greater than any restriction imposed by state law, but local governments may not allow a display that is in violation of state law. Local governments are also entitled to a portion of fees and fines under the state law, and they may also require advertisers to obtain licenses and permits, in addition to any licenses required by state law.

The OAA provides for general exemptions and specified exceptions to the prohibition on advertising along 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. In addition, since 1995, a number of bills have created exemptions for specific cities, including an exemption for advertising on "street furniture" in San Francisco, five signs situated on the property of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex, one sign each in the cities of Costa Mesa and Richmond, and four signs within the Mid-City Recovery Redevelopment Project Area within Los Angeles.

Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965: The Highway Beautification Act (HBA) was created to protect the public investment, promote the safety and recreational value of public travel, and to preserve the natural beauty of highways in the nation.

HBA specifies that states have the responsibility to enforce provisions regarding the placement and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices along the Interstate and National Highway System. The state of California enforces the provisions of federal law through a compact that was developed between the state and the federal government in 1967. Federal law also includes a penalty for states that violate HBA by reducing all federal highway transportation funds by a designated percentage.

Policy issue: This bill might authorize the placement of an advertising sign that is non-conforming to both the specifics and intent of the OAA. It might extend further the precedent for legislative approval of exemptions to OAA. Exemptions for nonconforming and prohibited billboards and lighted signs along interstate or primary highways and landscaped freeways might undermine and render meaningless the provisions and intent of the OAA.

Prior legislation: SB 31 (Padilla), Chapter 542, Statutes of 2013. Recasts an arena advertising exception to exempt from the OAA specified advertising displays authorized before January 1, 2019, by local ordinance, at a venue with a capacity of 15,000 seats or more that is capable of providing a permanent venue for professional sports. In essence, the bill allows for local control while establishing statewide guidelines for advertising displays at professional sports facilities and arenas.

SB 684 (Hill), Chapter 544, Statutes of 2013. Amended the redevelopment agency (RDA) exemption to OAA to reflect the elimination of redevelopment agencies. (Held in Senate Transportation)

SB 694 (Correa), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2013. Exempted, from the OAA, advertising displays at a publicly owned multimodel transit facility (MTF) that is to serve as a station for the high-speed train system, as specified, and requires revenues from the advertising display to be used to support the construction, operation, and maintenance of the MTF.

AB 2566 (Hill), 2011-12 Legislative Session. Would have provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an advertising display located on State Route 1, in the County of San Mateo, if certain conditions are satisfied.

SB 402 (Vargas), 2011-12 Legislative Session. Would have provided an exemption from the regulations of the OAA for an advertising display located within 1,800 feet of the intersection of State Highway Routes 8 and 111 in the County of Imperial if certain conditions are satisfied. (Senate Rules Committee)

AB 2756 (Blumenfield), Chapter 615, Statutes of 2010. Defines "mobile billboard advertising display" and allows a local authority to regulate these displays.

AB 2339 (Solorio), Chapter 493, Statutes of 2008. Expanded the definition of an "on premise" display to include those displays advertising products, goods, or services sold on the premises of an arena of at least 5,000 seats and is located on public land, provided certain conditions were met.

AB 1117 (Benoit) of 2007, would have deemed an advertising display erected by a city or county to advertise businesses operating within a redevelopment agency project area, or within a business improvement district whose boundaries partly or wholly overlap those of the redevelopment agency project area, to be on the premises at any location within 1,000 feet of the legal boundaries of the redevelopment agency's project area if the display meets certain conditions. (Died - Never heard in Senate Local Government Committee)

AB 563 (Ridley-Thomas) of 2007, would have deleted the "rebuttable presumption" in current law that deems those advertising displays that were unlawfully erected as lawful if the sign owner had not received notice that the display was unlawful within five years of the display being erected. This bill also would have deleted the requirement that entities requiring the removal of unlawfully erected signs pay sign owners just compensation to do so. (Died in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 1499 (Benoit) of 2006, would have created an exemption to the Act, to permit the City of Riverside to erect an outdoor advertising display along Highway 91 to promote economic activity for the Riverside Plaza. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 801 (Jones) of 2006, would have created an exemption from the OAA for one sign in the County of Sacramento. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 2441 (Klehs) of 2006, would have authorized an advertising display in the redevelopment zone of the City of San Leandro subject to specified conditions. (Vetoed by Governor)

AB 1518 (J. Horton) of 2006, would have exempted, from the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, any billboard located on property owned by the Lennox School District, subject to certain conditions. (Died pending concurrence in the Assembly)

AB 762 (Nuñez), Chapter 725, Statutes of 2003. Created an exemption to the OAA by allowing the National Latino Arts Council to place an advertisement on the roof of a not-for-profit educational academy.

SB 190 (Perata), Chapter 54, Statutes of 2001. Exempted from the OAA the prohibition against placing advertising displays adjacent to landscaped freeways, up to five advertising structures or signs (billboards) used to support the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Greenland USA

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531