SECTIONS 5480-5486 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 5480-5486

5480. The fees for licenses and permits prescribed by this chapter
are in lieu of all other license and permit fees required by the laws
of the state or of any political subdivision thereof for the
privilege of engaging in the outdoor advertising business or placing
advertising display within view of the public highways in
unincorporated areas.

5481. All license, permit, application, and renewal fees, and all
fines, collected by the director and his or her authorized agents in
accordance with this chapter shall be deposited in the State Highway
Account in the State Transportation Fund, except that 20 percent of
all fees and fines collected by county clerks appointed by the
director shall be retained by the county in which the fees are
collected. All money received by the state from the United States
pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 131 of Title 23 of the United
States Code shall be deposited in the same account. All fees and
fines shall be accounted for by the director in the manner provided
by law.

5482. Any display owner who does not remove an advertising display
that is placed or maintained in violation of this chapter and is
removed and destroyed by the director or any authorized employee
pursuant to Section 5463, shall pay to the director a fine in an
amount equivalent to any costs related to that removal and
destruction.

5483. The expense of administering this chapter is under the
control of the director. Money in the State Highway Account in the
State Transportation Fund shall be available for the administration
and enforcement of this chapter upon appropriation by the Legislature
or when made available pursuant to Section 13322 of the Government
Code.

5484. (a) The license fee is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for
an original license and for each annual renewal thereof for any
applicant maintaining six or less sign or structure permits, or both,
except where the applicant has engaged in the business of outdoor
advertising without a valid, unrevoked and unexpired license, the fee
for any issuance of the first license thereafter is three hundred
fifty dollars ($350), one hundred dollars ($100) of which is the
penalty.
(b) The license fee is five hundred dollars ($500) for an original
license and for each annual renewal for any applicant maintaining
seven or more sign or structure permits, or both, except where the
applicant has engaged in the business of outdoor advertising without
a valid, unrevoked and unexpired license, the fee for any issuance of
the first license thereafter is six hundred dollars ($600), one
hundred dollars ($100) of which is the penalty.

5485. (a) (1) The annual permit fee for each advertising display
shall be set by the director.
(2) The fee shall not exceed the amount reasonably necessary to
recover the cost of providing the service or enforcing the
regulations for which the fee is charged, but in no event shall the
fee exceed one hundred dollars ($100). This maximum fee shall be
increased in the 2007-08 fiscal year and in the 2012-13 fiscal year
by an amount equal to the increase in the California Consumer Price
Index.
(3) The fee may reflect the department's average cost, including
the indirect costs, of providing the service or enforcing the
regulations.
(b) If a display is placed or maintained without a valid,
unrevoked, and unexpired permit, the following penalties shall be
assessed:
(1) If the advertising display is placed or maintained in a
location that conforms to the provisions of this chapter, a penalty
of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be assessed.
(2) If the 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.
(c) In addition to the penalties set forth in subdivision (b), the
gross revenues from the unauthorized advertising display that are
received by, or owed to, the applicant and a person working in
concert with the applicant shall be disgorged.
(d) The department or a city or a county within the location upon
which the advertising is located may enforce the provisions of this
section.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if an action
results in the successful enforcement of this section, the department
may request the court to award the department its enforcement costs,
including, but not limited to, its reasonable attorneys' fees for
pursuing the action.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to strengthen the ability of local governments to enforce zoning
ordinances governing advertising displays.

5486. In addition to the fees set forth in Section 5485, no
application for an original permit to place an advertising structure
shall be accepted by the department unless it is also accompanied by
an application fee of three hundred dollars ($300). The application
fee shall be retained by the department whether or not a permit is
issued.
An applicant may request a preliminary determination as to whether
a proposed structure and location would be legally eligible for a
state permit upon submission of a fee of two hundred dollars ($200),
one hundred dollars ($100) of which shall be credited toward an
application fee for an original permit at this location if a permit
is applied for within one year of the response to the request for
preliminary determination.