SB1228 - Advertising displays: exemptions: arenas and redevelopment agency projects.

Senate Bill No. 1228 CHAPTER 686 An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 5272 of, and to add Section 5440.5 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to advertising displays. [ Approved by Governor September 27, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 27, 2026. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1228, Rubio. Advertising displays: exemptions: arenas and redevelopment agency projects. 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 most of its provisions an advertising display used exclusively to advertise products, goods, or services that are either sold on the premises of an arena or marketed or promoted on the premises of an arena if, among other conditions, the advertising display has been authorized, as of January 1, 2021, by, or in accordance with, a local ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district adopted in connection with the approval of the arena, as provided. The act requires an advertising display that is located on the premises of an arena and that was erected pursuant to the exemption also to be authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district, as provided. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2028, similarly exempt from most provisions of the act an advertising display used exclusively to advertise products, goods, or services that are either sold on the premises of an arena or marketed or promoted on the premises of the arena if, among other conditions, the advertising display has been authorized, as of January 1, 2032, by, or in accordance with a local ordinance or other discretionary approval, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district that benefits the arena, as specified. The bill would define “premises of an arena” to include a public assembly building owned by the City of Los Angeles, as specified. The bill would require, before one of these advertising displays may be placed, a determination from the department or the Federal Highway Administration that the display will not cause a reduction in federal aid funds or otherwise be inconsistent with federal law, federal regulations, or an agreement between the state and a federal agency or department, as specified. This bill would limit both of these exemptions to an arena that is fully constructed or under construction on or before January 1, 2027. The bill would instead require an advertising display that is located on the premises of an arena and that was erected pursuant to either of these exemptions to be authorized by an ordinance or other discretionary approval, including, but not limited to, a specific plan, sign district, or conditional use permit, as specified. The bill would prohibit an arena from having more than a total of 2 advertising displays pursuant to these exemptions. Except for advertising displays authorized by the existing exemption, the bill would require certain advertising displays placed pursuant to the new exemption for one arena to be located at least 5,000 feet from an advertising display authorized pursuant to an exemption for another arena. The act also regulates 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. The act prohibits, except as provided, placing or maintaining an advertising display on property adjacent to a portion of a freeway that has a specified coverage area of landscaping or trees at the same or elevated grade of the main-traveled way, as provided. The act does not prohibit a city, county, or city and county from designating the districts or zones in which an advertising display may be placed or prohibited as part of a land use or zoning ordinance. The act also does not prohibit a local governmental entity from entering into an agreement to relocate an advertising display for any purpose. This bill would exempt certain advertising displays developed within the boundary limits of, and as part of, an individual redevelopment agency project from the prohibition on placing or maintaining an advertising display on property adjacent to a portion of a freeway that has landscaping or trees, from a city’s, county’s, or city and county’s land use or zoning ordinance, and from a local governmental entity’s relocation agreement, as those are described above. The bill would require an advertising display subject to this exemption to remain in substantially the same location and configuration as it existed on December 31, 2025, and would prohibit the advertising display from being expanded, relocated, increased in height or display area, or modified to add additional display faces beyond those existing on December 31, 2025. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Los Angeles. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5272 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 2717 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2717 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 5272 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5272. (a) With the exception of Article 4 (commencing with Section 5300) and Sections 5400 to 5404, inclusive, this chapter does not apply to any advertising display used exclusively for any of the following purposes: (1) To advertise the sale, lease, or exchange of real property on which the advertising display is placed. (2) To advertise directions to, and the sale, lease, or exchange of, real property for which the advertising display is placed, provided that this exemption does not apply to advertising displays visible from a highway and subject to the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 U.S.C. Sec. 131). (3) To designate the name of the owner or occupant of the premises or to identify the premises. (4) To advertise the business conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold on the property on which the advertising display is placed if the display is on the same side of the highway and within 1,000 feet of the point on the property or within 1,000 feet of the entrance to the site at which the business is conducted, services are rendered, or goods are produced or sold. (5) To display only noncommercial public health, emergency, and safety messages from the County of San Joaquin, on public property and equipment owned and operated by the County of San Joaquin in conformance with state law, federal law, regulations, and agreements. (b) With the exception of Article 4 (commencing with Section 5300) and Sections 5400 to 5404, inclusive, this chapter does not apply to any advertising display used exclusively either to advertise products, goods, or services sold by persons on the premises of an arena on a regular basis, or to advertise products, goods, or services marketed or promoted on the premises of an arena pursuant to a sponsorship marketing plan, if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The arena is capable of providing a venue for professional sports on a permanent basis. (2) The arena has a capacity of 15,000 or more seats. (3) The advertising display is either of the following: (A) Located on the premises of the arena. (B) Has been authorized as of January 1, 2021, by, or in accordance with, a local ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district adopted in connection with the approval of the arena by the city, county, or city and county, bears the name or logo of the arena, and is visible when approaching offramps from the interstate, primary, or state highways used to access the premises of the arena. No arena shall be permitted more than two advertising displays allowed under this subparagraph. (c) (1) Any advertising display erected pursuant to subdivision (b) and located on the premises of the arena shall be lawful only if authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district, adopted by the city, county, or city and county, that regulates advertising displays on the premises of the arena by identifying the specific displays or establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, all of the following: (A) Number of signs and total signage area allowed. (B) Maximum individual signage area. (C) Minimum sign separation. (D) Illumination restrictions and regulations, including signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness. (E) Illuminated sign hours of operation. (2) Authorization of advertising displays under subdivision (b) is subject to the owner of the advertising display submitting to the department a copy of the ordinance adopted by the city, county, or city and county in which the arena is located authorizing the advertising display and, for signs located on the premises of the arena, identification of the provisions of the ordinance required under paragraph (1). The department shall certify that the proposed ordinance meets the minimum requirements contained in paragraph (1). (3) An advertising display authorized pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not advertise products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material. (4) This chapter does not limit a local government from adopting ordinances prohibiting or further restricting the size, number, or type of advertising displays permitted by this section. (d) As used in this section, “the premises of an arena” means either of the following: (1) A venue for indoor or outdoor sports, concerts, or other events. (2) Any development project or district encompassing the venue, adjacent to it, or separated from it only by public or private rights-of-way, the boundaries of which have been set by the city, county, or city and county in which the arena is located. The development project or district shall be contiguous and shall not extend more than 1,000 feet beyond the arena structure or any structure physically connected to the arena structure. (e) As used in this section, “sponsorship marketing plan” means an agreement between the property owner, facility owner, facility operator, or occupant of the premises of an arena and a sponsor pursuant to which the sponsor is allowed to include its logo, slogan, or advertising on advertising displays and that meets both of the following conditions: (1) The sponsorship marketing plan is for a period of not less than 120 days. (2) The sponsorship marketing plan grants the sponsor the opportunity to display its logo, slogan, or advertising in the interior of structures on the premises of an arena, or conduct promotions, public relations, or marketing activities on the premises of an arena. (f) Authorization of an advertising display under subdivision (b) that is a message center display is subject to the owner of the display complying with one of the following conditions: (1) Making a message center display within the premises of the arena available on a space-available basis for use by the department or the Department of the California Highway Patrol for public service messages, including Emergency Alert System (Amber Alert) messages disseminated pursuant to Section 8594 of the Government Code, 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) Making a message center display not subject to this section 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 the department and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. (3) Providing funding to the department 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 the arena by the city, county, or city and county. (g) If an advertising display authorized under subdivision (b) is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, or any other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds provided in Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code, authorization of the display under subdivision (b) shall cease and the display owner shall remove all advertising copy from the display within 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice. Failure to remove the advertising copy pursuant to this subdivision shall result in a civil fine, imposed by the department, of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day until the advertising copy is removed. The department shall not assume any liability in connection with cessation of operation or removal of an advertising display or advertising copy pursuant to this subdivision. (h) The city, county, or city and county adopting the ordinance authorizing the displays erected pursuant to this section shall have primary responsibility for ensuring that the displays remain in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance and of this section. If the city, county, or city and county fails to ensure that the displays remain in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance and of this section after 30 days of receipt of a written notice from the department, the city, county, or city and county shall hold the department harmless and indemnify the department for all costs incurred by the department to ensure compliance with the ordinance and this section or to defend actions challenging the adoption of the ordinance allowing the displays. (i) An advertising display lawfully erected on or before December 31, 2013, in conformity with subdivision (e) of this section as it read on that date, shall remain authorized, subject to the terms of that subdivision. (j) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed. SEC. 2. Section 5272 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 5272. (a) With the exception of Article 4 (commencing with Section 5300) and Sections 5400 to 5404, inclusive, this chapter does not apply to any advertising display used exclusively for any of the following purposes: (1) To advertise the sale, lease, or exchange of real property on which the advertising display is placed. (2) To advertise directions to, and the sale, lease, or exchange of, real property for which the advertising display is placed, provided that this exemption does not apply to advertising displays visible from a highway and subject to [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]