February 16, 2007





HOUSE BILL No. 1373

_____


DIGEST OF HB 1373 (Updated February 13, 2007 12:40 pm - DI 87)



Citations Affected: IC 8-23.

Synopsis: Changeable message signs. Allows the department of transportation to adopt rules to provide for the issuance of permits for changeable message signs. Allows a person to erect and operate a changeable message sign in the absence of rules adopted by the department.

Effective: July 1, 2007.





Stevenson, Austin , Whetstone , Kuzman




    January 16, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on Government and Regulatory Reform.
    February 15, 2007, amended, reported _ Do Pass.






February 16, 2007

First Regular Session 115th General Assembly (2007)


PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type, additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts between statutes enacted by the 2006 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

HOUSE BILL No. 1373



    A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities and transportation.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

SOURCE: IC 8-23-1-14.3; (07)HB1373.1.1. -->     SECTION 1. IC 8-23-1-14.3 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2007]: Sec. 14.3. (a) "Changeable message sign" means a sign that satisfies all of the following:
        (1) The message on the sign may be changed mechanically, electronically, or by remote control.
        (2) The static display on the face of the sign:
            (A) does not display any copy or message that moves, appears to move, or flashes; and
            (B) lasts at least eight (8) seconds.
        (3) A message change takes no more than two (2) seconds.
    (b) The term includes electronic billboards and trimovement signs.

SOURCE: IC 8-23-1-20.5; (07)HB1373.1.2. -->     SECTION 2. IC 8-23-1-20.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2007]: Sec. 20.5 "Electronic billboard" means a programmable sign capable of presenting a large amount of:
        (1) text;
        (2) symbolic imagery; or
        (3) both text and symbolic imagery.

SOURCE: IC 8-23-1-42.5; (07)HB1373.1.3. -->     SECTION 3. IC 8-23-1-42.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2007]: Sec. 42.5. "Trimovement sign" means a sign that displays three (3) separate images sequentially by rotating triangular cylinders.
SOURCE: IC 8-23-20-25; (07)HB1373.1.4. -->     SECTION 4. IC 8-23-20-25 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2007]: Sec. 25. (a) The department shall institute a permit system to regulate the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs along:
        (1) the interstate and primary system, as defined in 23 U.S.C. 131(t) on June 1, 1991; and
        (2) any other highways where control of outdoor advertising signs is required under 23 U.S.C. 131.
    (b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (g) and section 25.5(c) of this chapter, a sign may not be erected, operated, used, or maintained in areas described in subsection (a) unless the owner of the sign has obtained a permit under this section.
    (c) A permit is not required to erect, operate, use, or maintain the following signs:
        (1) Directional or official signs and notices.
        (2) Signs advertising the sale or lease of the property on which the sign is located.
        (3) Signs that primarily indicate:
            (A) the name of the business, activity, or profession conducted;
            (B) the types of goods produced or sold; or
            (C) the services rendered;
        on the property on which the sign is located.
    (d) Signs in existence on July 1, 1993, and subject to this section:
        (1) must comply with the registration system described in subsection (h); and
        (2) are subject to the permit requirement after the department has made the determination described in subsection (g).
    (e) The department shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to carry out this section. Rules adopted under this section may be no broader than necessary to implement 23 U.S.C. 131 and 23 CFR 750.
    (f) In addition to the requirements of subsection (e), rules adopted under this section must provide the following:
        (1) A list of all roadways subject to the permit requirement.
        (2) A procedure to appeal adverse determinations of the department under IC 4-21.5, including provisions for judicial review under IC 4-21.5.
        (3) A one-time fee of one hundred dollars ($100) per structure must accompany the permit application. A permit fee may not be charged to a sign that is subject to and complies with the registration system described in subsection (h).
        (4) That a permit may not be issued for a sign erected in an adjacent area after January 1, 1968, unless:
            (A) the sign is erected in an area described in section 5 of this chapter; or
            (B) the permit is a conditional permit issued under subdivision (6).
        (5) That a permit may not be issued for a sign erected after June 30, 1976, outside of urban areas, beyond six hundred sixty (660) feet of the right-of-way, visible from the traveled way, and erected with the purpose of a message being read from the traveled way, unless:
            (A) the sign is erected in an area described in section 5 of this chapter; or
            (B) the permit is a conditional permit issued under subdivision (6).
        (6) For the issuance of a conditional permit for a nonconforming sign that has not been acquired under section 10 of this chapter. A conditional permit issued under this subdivision may be revoked if the department subsequently acquires the sign.
        (7) That the department is granted the right to enter the real property on which a sign for which a permit under this section has been applied for or issued to perform reasonable examinations and surveys necessary to administer the permit system.
        (8) The department may revoke any permit when it is found that the permittee has provided false or misleading information and that such a finding may be cause to subsequently refuse to issue a permit.
        (9) Any other provisions necessary to:
            (A) administer this section; or
            (B) avoid sanctions under 23 U.S.C. 131.
    (g) A sign that is subject to and complies with the registration system described in subsection (h) may not be declared unlawful until the later of the following:
        (1) The department has made a determination of permit eligibility under this section.
        (2) December 31, 1993.
    (h) A separate application for registration must be submitted to the department for each structure defined in subsection (d) and must:
        (1) be on a form furnished by the department;
        (2) signed by the applicant or an individual authorized in writing to sign for the applicant;
        (3) provide information concerning the size, shape, and nature of the advertising sign, display, or device;
        (4) provide the sign's actual location with sufficient accuracy to enable the department to locate the sign; and
        (5) include a one-time registration fee of twenty-five dollars ($25).
    (i) A sign that is not registered before January 1, 1994, is a public nuisance subject to section 26 of this chapter.
    (j) Each registrant shall fasten to each advertising sign or device a label or marker provided by the department that must be plainly visible from the traveled way.
SOURCE: IC 8-23-20-25.5; (07)HB1373.1.5. -->     SECTION 5. IC 8-23-20-25.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2007]: Sec. 25.5. (a) The department may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 that provide for the issuance of a permit for a changeable message sign erected, operated, used, or maintained in areas described in section 25(a) of this chapter.
    (b) A permit authorized by this section may not otherwise violate state or federal law or local ordinances or regulations.

     (c) Until the department adopts rules under this section, a person may erect, operate, or use a changeable message sign in an area described in section 25(a) of this chapter, subject to any other requirements of state or federal law or local ordinances or regulations.