172.6.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and subject to any required federal approval authorizing the department to do so, the department may solicit proposals, accept unsolicited proposals, negotiate, and enter into comprehensive development lease agreements with public or private entities, or consortia of those entities, to conduct pilot projects, in a manner that best effectuates the purposes of this article, to install and operate a new digital sign or signs within the state highway system right-of-way, in a manner to best effectuate the purposes of this article. If the department is advised by the United States Department of Transportation, or any of its agencies, that a display of advertising authorized by this article would result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds to the state pursuant to Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code, that display of advertising shall not be made. The department shall conduct a best value competitive procurement and negotiate an initial agreement to become effective upon obtaining any necessary federal authorization. The department may provide services for which it is reimbursed with respect to preliminary design, inspection, and oversight of a pilot project.(b) An agreement shall provide that the contracting entity with which the agreement is entered into will bear all reasonable costs of the pilot project, including, but not limited to, costs of installation, maintenance, and operation of the pilot project.
(c) An agreement described in subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide for construction, operation, and maintenance of a new digital sign or signs at locations selected for the pilot project by the department in consultation with the regional transportation planning agency or county transportation commission or authority in whose jurisdiction the project will be located and the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(2) Provide for complete reversion of any ownership interest in any of the privately constructed, improved, operated, and maintained digital signs to the department at the expiration of the agreement at no charge to the department and free and clear of any liens or encumbrances.
(3) Provide that all department emergency notifications shall have priority over other messaging, including advertising.
(4) Provide that the department, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, shall retain the ability to make a determination on the safety of the digital signs, and may take those actions deemed necessary to protect public safety.
(5) Require that the agreement entered into pursuant to this section include indemnity, defense, and hold harmless provisions agreed to by the department and the contracting entity, including provisions for indemnifying the State of California against any claims or losses resulting or accruing from the performance of the contracting entity, including advertising on the digital signs, excluding any advertising approved in advance or provided by the department. This paragraph does not require the agreement to include any obligation of the State of California to indemnify, defend, or hold harmless the contracting entity.
(6) Provide for the contracting entity with which the agreement is made to contract and receive funds for the placement of commercial advertisements on the digital signs except during times and to the extent the signs are in use by the department and to share revenues generated in connection with the use of those signs for commercial advertising in furtherance of the public interest in a proportion negotiated by the department but the agreement shall not allocate less than 50 percent of those revenues to the department after reasonable installation costs have been recovered by the contracting entity.
(7) Provide that the agreement shall cease on January 1, 2024, at which point commercial advertising shall cease unless authorized by a subsequent statute.
(d) The digital signs to be constructed pursuant to this article shall, during the term of the applicable agreement, be deemed to be a part of the state highway system for purposes of identification, maintenance, and enforcement of traffic laws, and part of the state highway system for emergency notification and other public service information purposes and for the purposes of Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(e) Revenues from the digital signs shall be allocated between the contracting entity with which the agreement is made and the department in accordance with the agreement as provided in paragraph (6) of subdivision (c). Revenue derived from the project and received by the department, or any other revenue generated from advertising on the digital signs owned by the department, and received by the department, shall be deposited in the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund. This revenue shall not be subject to the transfer under Section 183.1 or any successor to that section. Revenues deposited under this section shall be retained in the State Highway Account, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, consistent with the provisions of any federal authorization.
(f) The digital signs shall meet the design, construction, and operating requirements in the department’s standards and guidelines, including, but not limited to, controls, such as state-of-the-art sensors that control the brightness of the display based on the surrounding ambient light levels and other technologies muting adjacent glare, that focus the zone of vision toward motorists on the traveled way and prevent neighborhood impacts in the vicinity of the digital signs.
(g) The department shall retain the ultimate right to determine whether the location for the placement of a digital sign has or will negatively impact a residential area or community. If the department determines that the location of a digital sign has or will have a negative impact on a residential area or community, the department may, in its discretion, impose additional requirements on its lighting or placement, require a different placement, not allow its placement, or require its removal.
(h) For the purpose of facilitating a pilot project, the applicable agreement between the parties may include provisions for the lease of rights-of-way in, and airspace over or under, highways, public streets, rail, or related facilities, for the granting of necessary easements, and for the issuance of permits or other authorizations to enable the construction of the project. Facilities subject to an agreement under this section shall, at all times, be owned by the department.
(i) An agreement shall require digital signs on the state highway system to meet all requirements for noise mitigation, landscaping, pollution control, and safety that otherwise would apply if the department were designing, building, and operating the pilot project.
(j) Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, and maintenance work for digital signs is a public work for purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.