By Michael F Wright Ever since Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego (1981), courts have been applying an ultra-lenient version of intermediate scrutiny under Central Hudson Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Service Commission (1980) to content-based regulation of commercial signs. Then in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona […]
A federal judge ruled that regulators “failed to articulate a reasoned basis” for mandating warning labels for premium cigar advertising and packaging. Warnings for premium cigars, which had not gone into effect, were vacated by US District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta on February 3, 2020 (Cigar Association of America […]
See the billboard in the picture? It started the Thomas v Bright challenge to Tennessee’s billboard rules. The site is a vacant lot next to I-40 in Memphis Tennessee. William Thomas tried to get a permit for a billboard on the site, was denied because of spacing restrictions and […]
Amortization refers to the practice of forcing a billboard company to remove a billboard after an arbitrary period of time without compensation for the loss. Amortization has reared its ugly head in Wenatchee, Washington. In November the city of Wenatchee sent a letter to the city’s out of home companies […]
Tennessee’s General Assembly has started considering changes to Tennessee’s billboard-control law because federal courts have ruled the law unconstitutional. The motivation to enact a new billboard law is to remedy a pending legal challenge regarding free speech (Thomas v. Bright). Similar constitutional challenges to billboard law arose in Oregon and […]
Know your opposition. Here’s the budget for Scenic America, the anti-billboard non-profit. Insider assembled the figures based on Scenic’s IRS 990 forms. Scenic has been growing. Revenues increased from $351,224 during the year ended March 2016 to $803,870 during the year ended March 2019. Scenic is spending $120,000/year in advertising and […]
A Maryland appeals court yesterday ruled that a Baltimore City excise tax on billboards does not violate the First Amendment rights of Clear Channel Outdoor, upholding a state tax court decision in favor of the City’s Finance Department. Key components of the ruling include: EXCISE TAX – FIRST AMENDMENT An […]
Cannabis advertising continues to be a hot issue. Oklahoma prohibits medical marijuana advertising which: promotes overconsumption of marijuana represents the curative or therapeutic effect of marijuana includes children, objects, cartoons, characters or a design which is appealing to people under the age of 18. Now Oklahoma State Senator Mark Allen […]
By Ken Klein, OAAA, from MediaPost Colorado, a pioneer in marijuana legalization, has revised its rules to allow pot ads on billboards. The new rules call for 500-feet billboard buffers from schools, places of worship, and public playgrounds. This rule change in Colorado reflects broader points: – Norms are emerging […]
Last Monday the San Diego City Council unanimously approved legislation restricting the location of marijuana ads. The law is aimed at restricting cannabis advertising within 1000 feet of schools playground, day care centers youth centers and public parks. The new law will make 381 or 60% of the billboards in […]
