ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1984 - California

1 California legislature 2011 12 regular sessionASSEMBLY bill No. 19841 Introduced by ASSEMBLY Member WagnerFebruary23, 20121 2 An act to add and repeal Section 25354 of the Vehicle Code, relatingto counsel s digestAB1984, as introduced, Wagner. Buses: illuminated advertising:University of California , Irvine.(1) Existing law authorizes a bus operated by a publicly owned transitsystem on regularly scheduled service to be equipped with illuminatedsigns that display information directly related to public service andinclude, among other things, destination signs, route-number signs,run-number signs, public service announcement signs, or a combinationof those signs, visible from any direction of the vehicle, that emit anylight color, other than the color red emitted from forward-facing signs,pursuant to specified conditions.

2 Existing law authorizes, until January1, 2017, a pilot program allowing up to 25 buses operated by the Cityof Santa Monica s publicly owned transit system for the first 2 yearsof the pilot program, and up to 30 buses thereafter, to be equipped withilluminated signs that display advertising subject to certain bill would authorize, until January 1, 2018, the University ofCalifornia, Irvine to operate a pilot program identical to the one operatedby the City of Santa Monica.(2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as tothe necessity of a special statute for the University of California , : majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: local program: people of the State of California do enact as follows:12345678910111213141516171819202 122232425262728293031323334353637 SECTION 25354 is added to the Vehicle Code, toread:25354.

3 (a) Notwithstanding Sections 25400 and 25950, a busoperated by the University of California , Irvine s public transportsystem on regularly scheduled service, in addition to theilluminated signs described in Section 25353, may also be equippedwith illuminated signs that display advertising and that emit anylight color, if all of the following conditions are met:(1) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising emits diffusednonglaring light.(2) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising is limited insize to a display area of not greater than 4,464 square inches.(3) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising does notresemble nor is installed in a position that interferes with thevisibility or effectiveness of a required lamp, reflector, or otherdevice upon the vehicle.

4 (4) Each illuminated sign displaying advertising is only placedon one or both sides of the vehicle, and is not placed in aforward-facing or rear-facing position, and no more than one suchsign is placed on either side of any single vehicle.(5) The mixing of individually colored light emitting diodeelements, including red, is allowed in each illuminated signdisplaying advertising as long as the emitted color formed by thecombination of light emitting diode elements is not red.(b) (1) An illuminated sign displaying advertising may beoperated as a dynamic message sign in a paging or streaming , the electronic message sign display shall remain staticwhile a bus is operating on a freeway as defined in Section 257 ofthe Streets and Highways Code.

5 (2) The following definitions shall govern the construction ofparagraph (1):(A) P aging, meaning character elements or other informationpresented for a period of time and then disappearing all at oncebefore the same or new elements are presented, is permitted if thedisplay time of each message is between and 10 times between each message shall be between and25 2 AB19841234567891011121314151617181920212 223242526272829303132(B) Streaming, meaning character elements or otherinformation moving smoothly and continuously across the display,is permitted if the character movement time, from one end of thedisplay to the other, is at least seconds, and the movement timeof the entire message does not exceed 10 seconds.

6 (c) By July 1, 2017, the University of California , Irvine shallsubmit to the Legislature and to the department a report on theincidence of adverse impacts on roadway and pedestrian safetydue to the utilization of illuminated signs on transit busesdisplaying advertising pursuant to this section, if any. The reportshall be the product of a collaborative effort by university lawenforcement and transit officials, other local law enforcementofficials in whose jurisdictions the university s transit vehiclesoperate, and the department.(d) The University of California , Irvine s public transport systemmay, pursuant to subdivision (a), operate up to 25 buses withilluminated signs displaying advertising for two years, after whichtime the city may increase the number of buses with the signs toup to 30.

7 (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, thatis enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that Legislature finds and declares that a special lawis necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicablewithin the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the CaliforniaConstitution because the University of California , Irvine s publictransit system is operating a revenue deficit in light of budgetreductions and is evaluating several strategies designed to enhancerevenue to offset operational expenses, including the use ofelectronic illuminated signage affixed to the side of buses to selladvertising, and this act would allow the university to increase itsrevenues on a pilot program 3