Politics & Government

Law Proposes to Make School Buses Billboards

Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) has proposed legislation that would allow school districts to sell advertising space on the exterior of their buses.

Could school buses be the new frontier for advertising?

State Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) thinks they could offer a way for cash-strapped school districts to raise some extra funds.  The Senate Republican leader and representative for Glendora, introduced legislation last week that would allow individual school districts to sell advertising space on the exterior of their buses.

Senate Bill 1295 would also give districts the flexibility to determine how they would spend the money they raise from advertising sales.

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“This isn’t a one-size fits all mandate from Sacramento,” Huff said in a statement. “It’s an option. My legislation doesn’t force school districts to do anything. It merely gives them the option to participate in such a program.”

The idea of advertising on the exterior of school uses isn’t a new one, Huff said.  Seven states, most recently New Jersey and Utah, have enacted similar laws. 

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California law allows school districts to sell advertising apace inside of school buses, on the exterior of campus buildings, at lunch tables, in hallways, in school publications such as newspapers and yearbooks, and in sports facilities.

The legislation comes after a Department of Education study that revealed that 127 school districts in the state are in financial jeopardy because of state budget cuts.  

Huff points to the most recent budget Democrats passed, which includes more than $1 billion in trigger cuts, as one of the chief reasons school districts are struggling fiscally.

Before this fiscal year started July 1, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers called for the extension of some sales taxes and vehicle license fee hikes to be put on the ballot for voters to weigh in, but Republican leaders blocked that effort.  

On Dec. 5, Brown unveiled another plan in an open letter to the public that includes a proposal to increase taxes on income earners in the top 2 percent and to hike sales tax by half a cent.

The governor is proposing a five-year income tax increase on those making $500,000 a year or more.  That and the temporary increase on the sales tax is estimated to generate around $7 million to be used to help fund education and public safety, according to the letter.  Brown plans to take the measure to the voters.

Huff has said he feels Californians are taxed enough and that he does not support Brown’s plan.

“California’s fiscal mismanagement has resulted in budgetary woes for our state’s public education system,” Huff said. “Extracurricular programs have been cut and funding for pupil transportation has been threatened. My legislation provides a new and needed source of funding for our schools at no cost to taxpayers.”


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