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How RoHS Laws Affect You & Your Sign Company
Taxation of Electric Signs
Caltrans Update
Subcontracting in Nevada
Title 24--Bookmark this site
Government Affairs Report
News Round-Up

How RoHS Laws Affect You & Your Sign Company

The Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA) (SB 20, Sher 2003) required the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt regulations to prohibit covered electronic devices “from being sold or offered for sale” in California if they are prohibited from sale in the European Union (EU) under Directive 2002/95/EC, “Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances”, or RoHS. The EU’s RoHS prohibits the sale of certain electronic devices if they contain heavy metals in concentrations above specified regulatory limits.

As of January 1, 2007 DTSC has adopted RoHS regulations that will restrict the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium in certain electronic devices sold in California. These new regulations have banned the sale of some electronic devices that contain certain hazardous substances.

California’s RoHS law applies only to a “covered electronic device”, which is defined in statute as “a video display device containing a screen greater than four inches, measured diagonally, identified in the regulations adopted by [DTSC]”. DTSC had identified covered electronic devices in its regulations to include:

• Cathode ray tube containing devices (CRT devices)
• Cathode ray tubes (CRTs)
• Computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes
• Laptop computers with liquid crystal display (LCD)
• LCD containing desktop
• Televisions containing cathode ray tubes
• Televisions containing liquid crystal display (LCD) screens
• Plasma televisions
• Portable DVD players with LCD screens greater than four inches

DTSC has not listed electric signs in its regulations. Therefore these electronic devices are not "covered electronic devices" and are not subject to the Electronic Waste Recycling Act.

For the California's Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Some Electronic Devices (RoHS) website go to: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/upload/Restriction_on_Electronic_Devices_01-05-06.pdf

For the website “How do I Know if my E-Waste is Covered by the Electronic Waste Recycling Act?” go to: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/index.cfm#How_do_I_Know_if_my_E-Waste_is_Covered_by_the_Electronic_Waste_Recycling_Act?

For more information go to the DTSC Electronic Hazardous Waste (E-Waste) website at: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/index.cfm#What_is_E-Waste?

If you have any further questions about this or any other area of hazardous waste management you can contact the DTSC Regional Office closest to you at 1-800-728-6942 or you can reach the Sacramento Regional Office at (916) 255-3618. You can access the DTSC web site at: www.dtsc.ca.gov

DTSC Regulatory Assistance Officers (RAOs) provide informal guidance only regarding management of hazardous waste for the convenience of the public. Such oral or electronic mail advice is not binding upon DTSC, nor does it have the force of law. If you would like a formal opinion on a matter by DTSC, please contact the responsible program office directly. You should also refer to the statutes and regulations, DTSC Policies and Procedures, and other formal documents.

We also encourage you to complete the Cal/EPA Customer Satisfaction survey at: http://www.calepa.ca.gov/Customer/

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Taxation of Electric Signs

A sales tax regulatory effort sought by CSA became effective October 1, 2000, changing the way electric signs are taxed in California. We have attached the Tax Information Bulletin regarding this change here for your convenience.

Download Section 6 of the Tax Bulletin

Download the entire Tax Bulletin

All of the information is available on the State Board of Equalization web site, in the Sales & Use Tax section: www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/sutprograms

To find the complete regulation, click on Regulations under the Quick Find section. Find 1521 - Construction Contractors. The Electric Sign section is subdivision (c)(12).

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Caltrans Update

Caltrans has developed a revised permit application. Download pdf document

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California and other out-of state sign companies doing business in Nevada faced serious fines and disciplinary action when the State of Nevada Contractors Board began issuing warning letters and determined that it was unlawful for Nevada licensees to subcontract with California and other out-of-state contractors for work to be performed in Nevada, unless those contractors also held Nevada licenses. CSA, ISA, the Nevada Sign Association (NSA), the Western States Sign Council (WSSC) and several individuals, including a Nevada state senator, all worked to resolve the issue.

Fortunately, on March 29, 2006 the Nevada State Contractors Board issued an advisory opinion which states, “The fabrication of a sign at a manufacturing facility does not meet the definition of ‘contractor’ under Nevada Revised Statutes…Any installation, on-site fabrication, erection or wiring of signs must be provided by a Nevada licensed contractor.” Please click on the link below for the complete document issued by the Nevada State Contractors Board.

CSA highly recommends that your sign contracts include language stating you will “arrange for installation with a local, state licensed contractor.”

Nevada State Contractors Board Advisory Opinion—Click here

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Title 24--Bookmark this site

Download (pdf) This document is an excerpt from the complete Title 24 regulation that pertains to signage. The three-page form for compliance is at the end of this 24-page document. Please check the CEC Title 24 Web site (link below) for any updates, the pagination is subject to change.

CEC Title 24 Main Web site Page (energy.ca.gov/title24/)

Energy Commission Web site (www.energy.ca.gov)

Nonresidential Compliance Manual and various chapters—Click here

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Government Affairs Report
By Jeff Aran, CSA Government Affairs Director

This winter the CSA Government Affairs Committee has been extremely active with numerous state, national and local activities. Our last meeting on January 24 in Sacramento reviewed windload engineering standards, new CEC proposals, digital illumination standards and amortization, as well as several local sign ordinances.

At the Capitol
No new signage bills were pending in the legislative bill hopper as of February 1. The deadline to introduce new bills is toward the end of February; so we’ll have a current report next month. We previously reported that an effort is being made to explore a possible ban on amortization, pursuant to GA Committee direction. I’ve now met informally with several legislative staffers and GA will be addressing this shortly.

Regulatory
Digital Regulations
Last year, AB 830 proposed legislation that would allow existing static billboards to be converted to digital displays. Due to backlash arising from an overbright, malfunctioning sign in the Bay Area, the bill was pulled. In the interim, the outdoor advertising industry began work to develop illumination standards and undertook field testing on digital brightness criteria. Myron Laible, Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Director of Government Affairs, reports that OAAA has now finalized, “creative templates” and “best practices.” Their study should be out shortly. Steve Jones (YESCO), CSA 2nd VP, relates that the testing was “intended to provide jurisdictions with an acceptable and reasonable method for measuring and evaluating LED lighting.”

At the fall CSA Board meeting, President Ray Smith appointed an ad hoc digital LED Committee which met in December. Chaired by past-president Terry Long, the Committee sent a letter to ISA asking for ISA’s participation in developing a national standard. The thinking is that if we do not act collectively and cooperatively now, other agencies may develop unacceptable lighting standards for on- and off-premise signage without our input. Stay tuned for further developments.

Windload Re-Engineering/Building Codes
As reported previously, concerns regarding overzealous windload engineering standards in the new building codes prompted several efforts to effect a change allowing use of the prior code. CSA has now engaged with the Structural Engineers Association of California to accomplish this goal.

California Energy Commission—“Green Building Standards Code”
The CEC recently released two new documents—The Green Building Report and a proposed Green Building Standards Code. Both of these are being reviewed by the CSA GA Committee and we will report shortly. Neither specifically mentions signs, but there are “lighting” provisions and they include incentive proposals which may effect future signage construction.
The Green Building Report is a summary of recommendations relating to “green” building incentives and barriers. The report may be found at: www.energy.ca.gov/2008publications/CEC-400-2008-005/CEC-400-2008-005.PDF.

For more information on the proposed Green Building Standards Code, including draft “express terms,” go to: www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/bsc/prpsd_stds/Combined-GB-Stds-12-24-07.pdf.

Hazardous Materials Environmental Fee
This will make your day if your company has more than 49 employees. Regulations recently promulgated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) expand a little known fee call the “Hazardous Materials Environmental Fee,” to every company in California with more than 50 employees, regardless of the company’s activity or actual exposure to hazardous materials. The law which authorizes collection of the fee clearly restricts application to organizations that “use, generate, store, or conduct activities in this state related to hazardous materials…,” and a reasonable interpretation of this section would dictate the fee apply only to those companies that directly handle hazardous materials, but the statute has been so “broadly” interpreted that DTSC has decided that any company with 50 or more employees will now be subject to the fee because they must somehow have exposure to hazardous materials. To read the complete notice from the State Board of Equalization (the BOE collects the fees for the DTSC), go to: www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub90.pdf.

ADA changes
The California Access Advisory Board met February 7 to review proposed changes to the ADA disability access rules pertaining to parking lots, but nothing particularly new with regard to other ADA signage. Members are encouraged to review the regulations prior to embarking on any ADA projects. California has a different Braille standard apparently. CSA worked with the State Architect several years ago on some of these issues.

The California Department of General Services previously posted a 265-page 2005 comparison of the ADA v. California regs. If you’re in the mood, visit: www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/other/casbs_%20doj_comments.pdf.

The document can be reviewed online by searching “signs.” It is important to note that these are the exisiting ADA regs that have been in place for a while and that they apply only to permanent rooms and functional spaces of a building. Also, there is a provision for “equivalent facilitation,” which is an “alternate means of complying with the literal requirements…”

News Recap          
Solar signage…Safeway stores reports that it’s “going solar” at a number of stores, including with its signage. The Pleasanton store anticipates it will eliminate 487,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, which is claimed to be the equivalent of removing 50 cars from the roadway…PG&E has unveiled what it claims to be the nation’s first solar-powered billboard in San Francisco as part of their We Can Do This advertising campaign.

Ordinances under review…Truckee is trying to reduce “light pollution” with the help of the Dark Skies…El Dorado County, Pittsburg, Sacramento City and County, Madera County, Hollister, West Sacramento, Oroville, Oakdale, Citrus Heights, Bakersfield, Palm Springs…all revamping their ordinances.

“Grow Logo Initiative”…Word on the street is that there is a proposal sprouting around Washington to allow landscaped corporate logos along highways.

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