79R9201 T
By: Hill H.B. No. 2391
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of political signs by municipalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 216.903, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 216.903. REGULATION OF POLITICAL SIGNS BY
MUNICIPALITY. (a) In this section, "private real property" does
not include real property subject to an easement or other
encumbrance that allows a municipality to use the property for a
public purpose.
(b) A municipal charter provision or ordinance that
regulates signs may not, for a sign that contains primarily a
political message and that is located on private real property with
the consent of the property owner:
(1) prohibit the sign from being placed;
(2) require a permit or approval of the municipality
or impose a fee for the sign to be placed;
(3) restrict the size of the sign; or
(4) provide for a charge for the removal of a political
sign that is greater than the charge for removal of other signs
regulated by ordinance.
(c) A municipal charter provision or ordinance that
regulates signs may not, for a sign that contains primarily a
political message and that is located on private real property with
the consent of the property owner, restrict a sign that is 16 sq
feet or less in area and that is attached to a fence or another
structure fixed to land, other than a house, a structure attached to
a house, or a garage or another structure designed, at least in
part, for the purpose of providing shelter for a motor vehicle.
(d) Subsection (b) does not apply to a sign, including a
billboard, that contains primarily a political message on a
temporary basis and that is generally available for rent or
purchase to carry commercial advertising or other messages that are
not primarily political.
(e) [(d)] Subsection (b) does not apply to a sign that:
(1) has an effective area greater than 6 [36] feet;
(2) is more than four [eight] feet high;
(3) is illuminated; or
(4) has any moving elements.
(f) A municipality may by ordinance restrict the placement
of a sign that contains primarily a political message to a period of
30 days prior to an election and require removal of such signs
within 3 days after an election.