SLS 19RS-443 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 211
BY SENATOR APPEL
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
TRANSPORTATION/DEV DEPT. Provides relative to outdoor advertising. (6/30/19)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 48:461.1(13), (14), (15), and (16), 461.3(D) and (E), and 461.4(A)(3)(e) and
3 (5)(h) and (i), relative to outdoor advertising; to provide relative to the definitions
4 of "commercial advertising sign", "noncommercial advertising sign", "roadway" or
5 "traveled-way", and "off-premise outdoor advertising sign"; to prohibit the
6 Department of Transportation and Development from adopting a policy or procedure
7 or issuing a project permit to improve the visibility of an off-premise outdoor
8 advertising sign; to provide relative to a moratorium on the issuance of new permits
9 or renewal of existing permits under certain conditions by a certain date; to provide
10 relative to the spacing of commercial and noncommercial outdoor advertising signs
11 on highways in the interstate, federal-aid primary, and national highway system; to
12 provide relative to signs that are not permitted; to provide for an effective date; and
13 to provide for related matters.
14 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
15 Section 1. R.S. 48:461.1(13), (14), (15), and (16), 461.3(D) and (E), and
16 461.4(A)(3)(e) and (5)(h) and (i) are hereby enacted to read as follows:
17 §461.1. Terms defined
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
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1 * * *
2 (13) "Commercial advertising sign" means any off-premise display
3 advertising a business that owns or operates a facility within a three-mile radius
4 of the display and meets the structures and grounds criteria provided in the
5 LAC 70:III.136(B)(3).
6 (14) "Noncommercial advertising sign" means any off-premise display
7 advertising a public or registered nonprofit entity in this state that also owns or
8 operates a facility located in Louisiana that meets the structures and grounds
9 criteria provided in the LAC 70:III.136(B)(3).
10 (15) "Roadway" or "traveled way" means the portion of a highway
11 improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, exclusive of the
12 berm or shoulder, or facilities such as frontage roads, turning roadways, or
13 parking areas. In the case of a divided highway, the roadway or traveled way
14 of each of the separate roadways for vehicular traffic in opposing directions is
15 a main-traveled way.
16 (16) "Off-premise outdoor advertising sign" means any outdoor
17 advertising sign, display, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster,
18 billboard, flag, or any other thing which is designed, intended, or used to
19 advertise or inform, which is not sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished
20 at the property on which the sign is located or which does not advertise the sale
21 or lease of property upon which the sign is located.
22 * * *
23 §461.3. Regulation of advertising; exemptions; suspension
24 * * *
25 D. The department shall not adopt a policy or procedure, or issue a
26 project permit to remove trees, shrubs, vegetation, or traffic signs in order to
27 improve the visibility of any off-premise outdoor advertising sign.
28 E. Effective July 1, 2019, there is hereby placed a moratorium on the
29 issuance of any new permit for an off-premise outdoor advertising sign, as
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 211
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1 provided in LAC 70:III. No permit that expires, or for which the annual
2 renewal fee is not received by the department on or before July 1, 2019, shall be
3 renewed. Except for a permit amendment to alter an off-premise outdoor
4 advertising sign to comply with R.S. 48:461.4(A)(5)(h), no request or petition for
5 a reset shall be approved by the department on or after July 1, 2019.
6 * * *
7 §461.4. Recognition of customary uses
8 A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Part, outdoor advertising
9 shall be permitted in areas zoned industrial or commercial and in unzoned
10 commercial and industrial areas as hereafter defined, including all land, buildings,
11 or other structures controlled, owned, or operated by the state, or any political
12 subdivision, or any public entity thereof, provided they are located in zoned or
13 unzoned commercial or industrial areas and meet the size, lighting, and spacing
14 requirements as set forth in the "Federal-State Agreement For Carrying Out National
15 Policy Relative to Control of Outdoor Advertising in Areas Adjacent to the National
16 System of Interstate and Defense Highways and the Federal-Aid Primary System",
17 subject to the following regulations which are declared to be consistent with
18 customary use in this state:
19 * * *
20 (3) Spacing of signs
21 * * *
22 (e) Signs on highways in the interstate, federal-aid primary, and national
23 highway system shall be located in accordance with the requirements of
24 commercial advertising signs or noncommercial advertising signs.
25 * * *
26 (5) The following signs shall not be permitted:
27 * * *
28 (h) An off-premise outdoor advertising sign where the advertisement
29 appears on multiple sides of the structure, and one side of the structure that
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 211
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1 contains the advertisement does not face the roadway.
2 (i) An off-premise outdoor advertising sign that has been retrofitted or
3 converted to an off-premise changeable message sign.
4 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on June 30, 2019.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Sharon F. Lyles.
DIGEST
SB 211 Original 2019 Regular Session Appel
Present law provides that the legislature finds that outdoor advertising is a legitimate
commercial use of private property and, for the purpose of promoting the public safety,
health, welfare, convenience, and enjoyment of public travel, to protect the public
investment in public highways, and to preserve and enhance the scenic beauty of lands
bordering public highways, and declares that it is in the public interest to regulate and
restrict the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising in areas adjacent to the interstate
and primary highway systems within this state.
Proposed law adds the following definitions to present law:
(1)"Commercial advertising sign" means any off-premise display advertising a business
that owns or operates a facility within a three-mile radius of the display and meets
the structures and grounds criteria provided in the LAC 70:III.136(B)(3).
(2)"Noncommercial advertising sign" means any off-premise display advertising a
public or registered nonprofit entity in this state that also owns or operates a facility
located in Louisiana that meets the structures and grounds criteria provided in the
LAC 70:III.136(B)(3).
(3)"Roadway" or "traveled way" means the portion of a highway improved, designed,
or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, exclusive of the berm or shoulder, or facilities
such as frontage roads, turning roadways, or parking areas. In the case of a divided
highway, the roadway or traveled way of each of the separate roadways for traffic
in opposing directions is a main-traveled way.
(4)"Off-Premise Outdoor Advertising Sign" means any outdoor advertising sign,
display, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster, billboard, flag, or any
other thing which is designed, intended, or used to advertise or inform, which is not
sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished at the property on which said sign is
located or which does not advertise the sale or lease of property upon which the sign
is located.
Proposed law prohibits DOTD from adopting a policy or procedure, or issuing a project
permit to remove trees, shrubs, vegetation, or traffic signs in order to improve the visibility
of any off-premise outdoor advertising sign.
Proposed law, effective July 1, 2019, places a moratorium on the issuance of any new permit
for an off-premise outdoor advertising sign, as provided in LAC 70:III, and prohibits
renewal of any permit that expires, or the annual renewal fee is not received by DOTD on
or before July 1, 2019. Further, prohibits DOTD from approving a request or petition for a
reset on or after July 1, 2019, except for a permit amendment to alter an off-premise outdoor
advertising sign to comply with R.S. 48:461.4(A)(5)(h).
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words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 211
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Proposed law adds to present law spacing of sign requirements that signs on highways on
the interstate, federal-aid primary, and national highway system shall be located in
accordance with the requirements of commercial advertising signs (within three miles of the
advertised for profit business) or noncommercial advertising signs (public or registered
nonprofit entities) that own or operate a facility located in this state that meet the structures
and grounds criteria provided in the LAC 70:III.136(B)(3)).
Proposed law adds to present law that the following signs are not permitted:
(1)An off-premise outdoor advertising sign where the advertisement appears on
multiple sides of the structure, and one side of the structure that contains the
advertisement does not face the roadway.
(2)An off-premise outdoor advertising sign that has been retrofitted or converted to an
off-premise changeable message sign.
Effective June 30, 2019.
(Adds R.S. 48:461.1(13), (14), (15), and (16), 461.3(D) and (E), and 461.4(A)(3)(e) and
(5)(h) and (i))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.