The Dog Trainer reports that Ass. Bill 1041 has passed unanimously out of committee. This ultra-important bill by Tom Umberg (D-Garbage Garden Grove), dubbed the “Truth in Sports Advertising Act,” would require the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to include a disclaimer advising all potential consumers that there is no such city as “Los Angeles of Anaheim.” Of course it doesn’t mention the Angels by name, nor does it limit its scope to local teams. Thus, if the Tom Umberg Has Nothing Better To Do Act should pass, watch for silly disclaimers anytime the The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are in town, as they really play in St. Petersburg. The bill is not limited to baseball, either, so expect the same any time the The New York Jersey Jets or the New York Jersey Giants pay us a visit.
Rather than admit out loud that this silly bill is nothing more than a payoff to the City of Anaheim, Umberg makes a lame attempt to pass it off as some kind of consumer protection scheme.
Umberg justified legislative intervention by drawing a parallel to warning labels required on orange juice that contains no juice.
“This product contains no Los Angeles,” Umberg said, drawing chuckles in the hearing room.
Har, har. I guess that means there are no exceptions to the “don’t name yourself after a city you’re not located in” rule, right? Er, not quite. Read to the end of the bill, and you’ll find this little gem:
17802. A professional sports franchise is not required to provide the notice under Section 17801 if the governing body of the city, county, or city and county where the franchise participates in a plurality of its sporting events during the calendar year excuses the franchise from that requirement.
In other words, it would be perfectly fine for this product that “contains no Los Angeles” to falsely advertise itself as a Los Angeles team, but only if Anaheim (not Los Angeles itself) is let in on the scam. That makes about as much sense as a law saying you can infringe other people’s trademarks, as long as the person whose trademark you are not infringing has no problem with it. If Anaheim won’t let the Angels pretend to be from L.A., no problem. Let them move to Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita, Yreka, or any other city in the Golden State that will have them, provided that city will allow them to call themselves the Los Angeles Angels. If consumers are duped into buying tickets thinking the new Angel Stadium is anywhere within driving distance of Los Angeles, so be it.
Mr. Umberg did not elaborate further as to whether he wished to apply the same logic to the laws requiring fake juice manufacturers to disclose the lack of juice in their “juice.” It would create one helluva loophole if fake “juice” manufacturers could ditch the disclosure simply by obtaining the consent of the corn syrup manufacturer. Umberg also did not elaborate as to whether the Los Angeles / California / Anaheim / Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels would be allowed to retain the name “Angels,” which falsely and misleadingly implies that they play in the City of Angels.
Meanwhile, the equally coveted Moron Regulation of the Day award goes to the California Fish and Game Department.
