5480-5486
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.