Last month, I took Asm. Kevin Jeffries to task (in this Capitol Weekly column) for a bill to address California’s maze of sign ordinances.  ACR 93 asks the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties, and FPPC to develop a model campaign sign ordinance to be used by all of California’s local governments.

 

As I explained in the piece, I never doubted the Assemblyman’s intentions. A California-wide guideline for sign ordinances might be helpful. Too often campaigns for State Assembly or Congress must deal with a dozen different city and county sign ordinances.

 

However, I was deeply concerned that ACR 93 was asking the inmates to run the asylum. After all, local governments routinely pass the most restrictive and blatantly unconstitutional sign ordinances. Take a sign ordinance in South Park, Penn., which prevents residents from posting political yard signs, except for 30 days prior to an election. Violators face a $500-per-day fine, even if they post a political sign in their own yard.

 

Well, Asm. Jeffries has just amended his bill to add representatives from both political parties to this sign ordinance drafting committee as well as a representative from the public. Adding the political parties to the mix helps make sure that this new model ordinance won’t infringe on our First Amendment rights. Kudos to Asm. Jeffries for addressing the constitutional concerns.