A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that Kentucky’s billboard violates constitutional protection of free speech. Bottom line: the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals repeated its legal standard. That standard says regulations which distinguish between on-premise and off-premise signs are based on content, and, therefore, violate the […]
Legal
California Cannabis Billboard Update
By Richard Hamlin, Hamlin Cody California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control allowed cannabis advertising on interstate highways if at least fifteen miles from the state’s border. In late November 2020, a judge in San Luis Obispo ruled that the regulation was illegal. The court formally entered its judgment on January 11, […]
“I like billboards a lot”…What Senator Mikulski said about billboards
Wednesday we ran a post about the successful effort to defeat draconian anti-billboard legislation in the (federal) 1991 Highway Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. Our united industry convinced the US Senate to remove the anti-billboard provisions; the bipartisan vote was 60-39. Today we’re publishing excerpts from Senator Barbara Mikulski’s articulate support […]
Robert Campbell Recalls the 1991 Billboard Showdown in Congress
Thirty years ago, the US Senate defeated anti-billboard legislation 60–39. Robert Campbell, currently a Lamar Regional Manager based in Mobile, AL, was in Washington, DC, when that historic vote occurred. Billboard Insider asked Campbell to tell us what happened. We thought of Robert because he’s from Alabama, home of Senator […]
Rothfelder On Panhandling And Other Applications Of Reed vs Gilbert
Billboard Insider published an interesting article in its February 8th edition entitled Reed vs Gilbert and Panhandling? According to the article, the City Council of Spokane Valley, Washington is considering amendments to the City’s sign code to regulate panhandling (I suppose the politically correct term is actually “street solicitation,” but […]
Patrick O’Donnell on Utah Bill SB 61
The current billboard legislation referenced last week in Billboard Insider was drafted to address one of the most common inequities found in municipal sign codes across the country, the way in which digital (electronic) on-premise signs are regulated versus their off-premise digital counterparts. Many communities have adopted local sign ordinances […]
Reed v. Gilbert and Panhandling?
Insider noticed this article in the Spokesman Review on Friday. In light of federal and state court decisions ruling that certain bans targeting panhandlers could constitute First Amendment infringements, Spokane Valley lawmakers are revisiting the city’s rules to avoid potential legal trouble. The Spokane Valley Municipal Code prohibits solicitation through […]
Digital Billboard Bill Passes Utah Senate Committee
SB 61 was approved by the Utah Senate Business and Labor committee by a 6-2 vote. The bill would do the following: Prohibit Utah municipalities or counties from from restricting digital billboards. Prohibit Utah municipalities from requiring a billboard company to take down a billboard for every digital billboard conversion. […]
Changes to the Federal Sign Manual…What Does it Mean for Us?
Ken Klein OAAA Executive Vice President, Government Affairs The feds propose changes to the thick Manual that regulates traffic signs. What does this mean for out of home (OOH) media? The federal government is affirming/reinforcing that traffic signs are for traffic control, not advertising. The feds want to tweak the Logo program (blue-backed […]
Who Are New Members of Congress?
Ken Klein, OAAA Executive Vice President, Government Affairs Who are new members of Congress on the committee important to out of home (OOH) advertising? Four mayors, eight women, a Marine, and one Waffle House waitress. Seventeen newcomers were assigned to the US House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (seven Democrats and […]