Senate Bill No. 336
(By Senator Love)
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[Introduced March 14, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Transportation; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter five-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article one-b, relating to the division of highways; establishing a system of advertising on official state transportation maps; funding to be established by the Legislature; establishing acceptable advertising criteria; payment for advertising; map distribution by the division of highways; and providing that no state endorsement may be included on such maps.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article one-b, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1B. ADVERTISING OFFICIAL STATE TRANSPORTATION MAPS PROGRAM.

§5B-1B-1. Purpose.
This article establishes criteria for the publication and production of state maps as public information materials for free distribution with sale of advertising by which the costs of publication and production will be borne, in whole or in part, by the advertising.
§5B-1B-2. General.
Funding for producing and printing the state transportation map is to be provided by legislative act and the maps are utilized as a guide to the traveling public including tourists who visit the state and for reference by department personnel.
§5B-1B-3. Acceptable advertising criteria.
(a) Submittals to requests for proposals for advertising on the state transportation maps by a private vendor shall publicize only West Virginia travel and tourist attractions and tourist services.
(b) The division of highways shall develop detailed criteria for state transportation map advertising to include acceptable as well as unacceptable content. The following criteria applies:
(1) Advertising must promote West Virginia tourism:
(A) All advertisements must furnish pertinent information about West Virginia tourism;
(B) All advertisements shall represent destinations, attractions, activities, events, or points of interest which allow admission and access to the general public.
(C) The information contained within the advertisement must be generally beneficial and informative to West Virginia visitors concerning West Virginia points of interest or tourism opportunities;
(D) The advertisement will provide a good representation of tourism opportunities in West Virginia;
(E) All multiple destination promotions shall emphasize their West Virginia locations.
(2) Examples of unacceptable advertisers or advertisements are:
(A) Promotions offering for sale any real estate, e.g. homes, land, condominiums, time share units, or manufactured homes or space or land for these projects;
(B) Promotions of long term rentals, over thirty-one days, for any of the above types of real estate;
(C) Destinations, attractions, events, activities, or points of interest, where admission or access is based upon a membership fee or other means of exclusive admission, or where access is not reasonably afforded to the disabled.
(D) Advertisements which do not promote a West Virginia tourism product. This includes advertisements which promote destinations, activities, attractions, points of interest, or events not located within the geographic boundaries of the state of West Virginia;
(E) Advertisements or representations depicting or illustrating the point of view of political groups or special interest groups;
(3) Examples of acceptable advertisement content or advertisers are:
(A) Destinations, such as chambers of commerce representing destinations, tourism development councils, cities, counties, municipalities, Indian villages, and convention and visitors bureaus;
(B) Lodging establishments, such as resorts, hotels, motels, campgrounds, trailer parks (recreational vehicle and transients), and rental properties of less than thirty-one days;
(C) Attractions with family oriented offerings;
(D) Eating establishments serving visitors, such as restaurants (excluding any cutout discount coupons) and dinner theaters;
(E) Airlines promoting West Virginia destinations;
(F) Sports, such as sports events, sports activities, sports clubs with access or admission to the public, parimutuels, tournaments, sports equipment rental, races;
(G) Rentals, such as automobile rental companies;
(H) Services, such as tourism reservations services;
(I) West Virginia tour operators or travel agents, such as promoting West Virginia destinations, city tours, intracity and intercity bus or motorcoach tours;
(J) Events, such as festivals, parades, cultural events or activities, legitimate theater, circus, concerts.
(K) Oil companies;
(L) Education, information or processing tours, such as factory tours, plant processing tours;
(M) State or federal parks or recreational areas;
(N) The state lottery;
(O) Motor clubs, promoting West Virginia tourism information;
(P) Groups or associations representing any of the above;
(Q) Health care providers offering services to visitors;
(R) Others, such as cameras and film showing West Virginia usages, charge or credit cards showing West Virginia usages, and stores selling tourism products or resort clothing.
(4) Examples of unacceptable advertising content are:
(A) Liquor products such as wine, alcoholic liquor or beer;
(B) Tobacco advertising or promotions;
(C) Nudist resorts or camps;
(D) Massage parlors;
(E) Escort services;
(F) "Adult" bookstores;
(G) Topless bars or bars and eating establishments with clothing optional on service personnel or customers;
(H) Real estate firms or others selling real estate;
(I) Cruise lines advertising only non-West Virginia destinations, activities, events, attractions or points of interest;
(J) Airlines advertising non-West Virginia destinations or intermediate stops;
(K) General shopping malls;
(L) Stores which advertise the sale of retail or wholesale merchandise that does not promote West Virginia tourism;
(M) Pubs, bars, package stores;
(N) Hotels, motels, chains, etc. promoting only non-West Virginia locations;
(O) Non-West Virginia locations;
(P) Any use of promotions by overprinting of the map or pictorial side, which would interfere with the map's primary purpose;
(c) The division shall specify a maximum and minimum size of advertisements. These standards will ensure that the advertising will not overlap the map or pictorial side or interfere with the map's primary purpose.
(d) No advertisement by coupon shall be accepted.
(e) The division shall reserve the right to approve all elements of advertising to be placed on the state transportation map and shall retain the sole right of refusal of the advertising.
§5B-1B-4. Payment for advertising.
(a) Cost of advertising on the state transportation map shall be sufficient to reimburse the division of highways substantially for the costs of production and printing of the map.
(b) Where more than one advertisement is to be placed on the state transportation map, the cost of production and printing of the map shall be borne equitably by the advertisers based upon an established cost schedule determined by the percentage of total advertising space taken up by an individual advertisement.
(c) Contract provisions between the division and private vendors for advertising shall specify the amount, time of and method of payment to the department for the advertising. Payment for the advertising shall be in advance or by substantial deposit to cover the cost, with refund to the advertiser in the event of overpayment.
§5B-1B-5. Map distribution.
(a) The state transportation map shall be produced and printed for free distribution only by the West Virginia division of highways for purposes of tourism.
(b) The state transportation map may not be reproduced for purposes of resale.
(c) The major portion of the maps shall be distributed as a guide to the traveling public, including tourists, with the remainder allocated for internal division of tourism and parks use.
§5B-1B-6. No endorsement statement.
State transportation maps produced pursuant to this article shall include a statement that the inclusion of advertising on the maps does not constitute an endorsement by the state of West Virginia or any agency of the state of West Virginia of the products or services being advertised.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Division of Highways to produce and print official state transportations maps and sell advertising on the maps. It also provides for establishing acceptable advertising criteria; payment for advertising; map distribution by the division of tourism and parks or the division of highways; and that no state endorsement may be included on such maps.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.