Yesterday we started a look at North Carolina, Trees, Government and NCDOT and the legislature passed House Bill 198. After that bill was passed this is how Governor Roy Cooper responded.

To have a successful state outdoor association representing the interests of an entire industry, it requires the members, both large and small, working together AND a qualified Executive Director, which the NCOAA has in TJ Bugbee. We spoke with TJ to discuss how the bill got to this point and plans moving forward.

TJ, let’s start with your background and how you became Executive Director for the NCOAA. 

I’m from Wilmington originally. I came up to Raleigh to attend NC State, switched my major to political science, and ended up interning in the State House, working for a few different members. After that I worked as a contract lobbyist for several years before being . contacted by the NCOAA, along with several other folks, went through the interview process and started working with the Association in November of 2018.

What was the role of the NCOAA in the development and movement of HB 198? 

It is important to note that this a NC Department of Transportation agency bill which includes a number of changes the department wanted. We had an opportunity very early in the crafting of this bill in 2023, to work with NCDOT on the vegetation changes, and were able to get to a point where they were neutral on the language, and eventually pass the bill in the House with a strong bipartisan vote of 108-8. The bill passed the full legislature this year with the exact same language on vegetation, but ultimately, the Governor vetoed his own agency’s bill over this provision, citing it specifically in his veto message

What type of information did you provide to legislators as the bill moved through House and Senate?

We did have specific talking points on the bill to inform others about our industry and the need for reform. Those included:

• Upwards of 80-85% of our advertising in North Carolina is from local business, and many of those businesses rely exclusively on billboards to market their establishment to the travelling public.
• Our members often get calls from these businesses asking if just one, or a handful of trees, can be removed to improve the visibility of their advertisement, and currently, the short answer is no. And some billboards are unable to be sold due to being obstructed entirely by vegetation.
• Outdoor advertising companies manage vegetation at our own expense, including paying for the existing trees we would remove. Unnecessarily doing so would be cost prohibitive, contrary to the false alarms raised over this legislation. Much of the vegetation removed, should this bill become law, would be just what is needed to improve the visibility.
• Vegetation management in the Right of Way is a common practice by many entities, not just outdoor advertising, in North Carolina for both safety and visibility. NCOAA and our members are committed to reasonable control and maintenance of vegetation around our billboards.

I understand the process is not over.  What are the next steps for the Bill?

There is a lot of good policy in this bill, including the vegetation provisions for outdoor advertising. For the purposes of our industry, it would allow billboard companies to clean up the view zone around a billboard that won’t sell, that is paying a lease to a property owner, and open up that location to local businesses.

My hope is that there will be an opportunity to override the veto, but that is no guarantee. In North Carolina, it takes a 60% vote in both the House and Senate to complete an override. As of now, there is no specific timing on when that vote will take place.

A note from Billboard Insider: Do you have a state association and are you a member? This is a terrific example of how effective a cooperating and well run state association can be in moving forward initiatives for the industry. When it comes to outdoor advertising, it’s also worth noting the importance of hiring a strong lobbying firm, which TJ says has been vital for NCOAA. In North Carolina, NCOAA utilizes Sandy Sands and Ross Barnhardt with Sands Law.

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