88R4273 AJZ-F
By: Hughes S.B. No. 898
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the relocation, adjustment, and ownership of commercial
and outdoor signs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 391, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 391.0331 and 391.037 to read as
follows:
Sec. 391.0331. RELOCATION BECAUSE OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION,
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, OR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT. (a) If a commercial
sign use, structure, or permit may not be continued because of the
widening, construction, or reconstruction of a highway, the
installation, expansion, or construction of public infrastructure,
or the undertaking of a public improvement project by a public
improvement district, the owner of the commercial sign is entitled
to relocate the use, structure, or permit to another location:
(1) on the same property;
(2) on adjacent property;
(3) on the same highway not more than one mile from the
previous location; or
(4) if the commercial sign is within a municipality or
the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality, within that
municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(b) Relocation under this section shall be to a location
where a commercial sign is permitted under Section 391.031.
(c) The county or municipality in which the use or structure
is located shall, if necessary, provide for the relocation by a
special exception to any applicable zoning ordinance.
(d) Any governmental entity, quasi-governmental entity, or
public utility that acquires a commercial sign by eminent domain or
causes the need for the commercial sign to be relocated under this
section shall pay the costs related to the acquisition or
relocation.
Sec. 391.037. OBSTRUCTION OF VIEW AND READABILITY. (a) If
the view and readability of a commercial sign are obstructed due to
a noise abatement or safety measure, a grade change, vegetation,
construction, an aesthetic improvement made by an agency of this
state, a directional sign, or widening along a highway, the owner of
the sign may:
(1) adjust the height of the sign; or
(2) relocate the sign to a location within 500 feet of
its previous location, if the sign complies with the spacing
requirements under this chapter and is in a location in which a
commercial sign is permitted under Section 391.031.
(b) A county or municipality in which the commercial sign is
located shall, if necessary, provide for the height adjustment or
relocation by a special exception to any applicable zoning
ordinance.
(c) Notwithstanding any height requirements established
under this subtitle, the adjusted or relocated commercial sign may
be erected to a height and angle to make it clearly visible to
traffic on the main-traveled way of the highway and must be the same
size as the previous sign.
SECTION 2. Subtitle H, Title 6, Transportation Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 398 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 398. PROVISIONS GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO OUTDOOR SIGNS
Sec. 398.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "off-premise
sign" means an outdoor sign displaying advertising that pertains to
a business, person, organization, activity, event, place, service,
or product not principally located or primarily manufactured or
sold on the premises on which the sign is located.
Sec. 398.002. RIGHTS OF OWNER OF CERTAIN SIGNS. The rights
associated with an off-premise sign that is lawfully in existence
but no longer complies with current applicable laws and
regulations, including laws and regulations promulgated under
Chapters 391 and 394 of this code, and Chapter 216, Local Government
Code, vest in the owner of the off-premise sign.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.