The state Senate this evening passed a measure that would limit the ability of local governments to determine how to control billboards and would allow more cutting of the public’s trees along highways to increase billboard visibility. The measure may also allow converting existing billboards to digital signs.
H 645, Revisions to Outdoor Advertising Laws, sponsored by Reps. Jason Saine, Jimmy Dixon, Brenden Jones, and Michael Wray (with a twin bill filed in the Senate by Sens. Chuck Edwards, Harry Brown and Wiley Nickel) passed the Senate on a 27-17 vote. The bill must go back to the House for a concurrence vote since the Senate made changes.
Statement of Molly Diggins, State Director, N.C. Sierra Club:
“North Carolinians and visitors appreciate scenic roadways and the natural beauty of our state. It is disappointing that the Senate has chosen to subsidize an increasingly obsolete industry with unwarranted giveaways. This bill is basically saying that billboards are forever, regardless of the wishes of local residents and their governing bodies.”