BILL NUMBER: AB 109 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Feuer
JANUARY 13, 2009
An act to add and repeal Section 5420 of the Business and
Professions Code, relating to outdoor advertising.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 109, as introduced, Feuer. Outdoor advertising: digital
advertising displays.
Existing law, the Outdoor Advertising Act, provides for the
regulation by the Department of Transportation of advertising
displays, as defined, within view of public highways, as specified.
This bill, until January 1, 2012, would prohibit an advertising
display that is visible from a state, county, or city highway, as
specified, from being constructed as, or converted, enhanced,
improved, modified, modernized, or altered into, a digital
advertising display, as defined. The bill, until January 1, 2012,
would also prohibit an official highway changeable message sign, as
defined, from being constructed as, or converted, enhanced, improved,
modified, modernized or altered into, a digital advertising display
for the purpose of displaying commercial messages in addition to
official traffic operations or public safety messages. The bill would
provide for civil penalties for a violation of these provisions and
provide other remedies for enforcement. The bill would also state the
intent of the Legislature.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Numerous municipalities and states have raised safety concerns
regarding the construction and conversion of advertising displays
along and on state, county, and city highways into digital
advertising displays.
(b) The key issues of concern are potential distraction to
motorists due to brightness, rapid changes in the signs, and
proximity to complex driving environments and areas of high traffic
congestion; diversion of attention from official highway signs; and
spacing, among other factors.
(c) The Federal Highway Administration is expected to release, in
early 2009, Phase 1 of a study indicating a need for more research on
the safety impacts of commercial electronic variable message signs,
referred to in this act as digital advertising displays.
(d) In early 2009, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials is expected to release a critical review of
studies in 50 countries around the world over the last 10 years on
safety impacts of digital advertising displays.
(e) In 2010, the Federal Highway Administration is expected to
release Phase 2 of the study referred to in subdivision (c),
consisting of field work and conclusions concerning safety impacts of
digital advertising displays.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect the public
safety by prohibiting, until January 1, 2012, the construction of new
digital advertising displays, or the conversion, enhancement,
improvement, modification, modernization, or alteration, other than
routine maintenance, of existing advertising displays into digital
advertising displays, that are visible from a state, county, or city
highway, in order to provide the Legislature adequate time to analyze
the safety studies described in this section, hold public hearings
throughout the state on the findings of those studies, and revise
state law as appropriate.
SEC. 2. Section 5420 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
5420. (a) (1) No advertising display subject to this chapter, or
any other advertising display that is visible from a highway, as
defined in Section 5213, that is under state, county, or city
jurisdiction, other than an advertising display described in Section
5272, shall be constructed as, or converted, enhanced, improved,
modified, modernized, or altered into, a digital advertising display.
(2) No official highway changeable message sign shall be
constructed as, or enhanced, upgraded, improved, modified,
modernized, or altered into, a digital advertising display for the
purpose of displaying commercial messages in addition to official
traffic operations or public safety messages.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, "digital advertising display"
means an advertising display of still, scrolling, or moving images,
including video and animation, that may be changed remotely through
electronic means and utilizes a series of grid lights, including
cathode ray, light-emitting diode display (LED), plasma screen,
liquid crystal display (LCD), fiber optic, or other electronic media
or technology. "Digital advertising display" includes a message
center, as defined in Section 5216.4.
(2) For purposes of this section, "official highway changeable
message sign" means a traffic control device owned and operated by or
on behalf of the department or a local or regional transportation
agency designed to provide the public with traffic operations and
public safety information.
(c) A civil penalty of three thousand five hundred dollars
($3,500) shall apply for each day that an advertising display or
official highway changeable message sign is in violation of this
section. Furthermore, the owner of a display or sign in violation of
this section shall be required to disgorge profits gained over the
period during which the display or sign is in violation. The civil
penalty shall be assessed and recovered in an action brought by the
Attorney General or by any district attorney, county counsel, or city
attorney, who is also authorized to seek an injunction against
further violation of this section.
(d) Enactment of this section constitutes the exercise of the
state's police power to protect the public health and safety.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 5227 or any other provision of law, it
is the intent of the Legislature to occupy the whole field of
regulation with regard to the subject matter of this section.
Accordingly, this section constitutes a matter of statewide concern
and shall apply to and within the territory of charter cities and
charter counties.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to supersede any
ordinances, agreements, or stipulated judgments by and between local
and regional agencies and public or private persons or entities that
are in conflict with this section, except that nothing in this
section is intended to preclude ordinances or regulations by local
jurisdictions that impose restrictions on digital advertising
displays greater than those imposed by this section.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2012, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends
that date.