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
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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.