By:  Staples                                                      S.B. No. 1375

Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1375:                                   

By:  Phillips                                                 C.S.S.B. No. 1375



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regulation of outdoor advertising.                            
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 391, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Section 391.0331 to read as follows:
	Sec. 391.0331.  RELOCATION BECAUSE OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION.  
(a)  If any outdoor advertising use, structure, or permit may not 
be continued because of widening, construction, or reconstruction 
of a highway, the owner of the outdoor advertising is entitled to:
		(1)  relocate the use, structure, or permit to another 
location:     
			(A)  on the same property;                                            
			(B)  on adjacent property;                                            
			(C)  on the same highway not more than one mile 
from the previous location; or
			(D)  if the outdoor advertising is within a 
municipality or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a 
municipality, within that municipality or its extraterritorial 
jurisdiction; and
		(2)  maintain the existing outdoor advertising until 
the 60th day before the date the widening, construction, or 
reconstruction of the highway is set to begin.
	(b)  Relocation under this section shall be to a location 
where outdoor advertising is permitted under Section 391.031 or 
other state law, commercial and industrial location requirements, 
or department rules.
	(c)  The county or municipality in which the use or structure 
is located shall, if necessary, provide for the relocation by a 
special exception to any applicable ordinance.
	(d)  Subject to department rule, the relocated use or 
structure may be:
		(1)  erected to a height and angle to make it clearly 
visible to traffic on the main-traveled way of the highway to which 
it is relocated;
		(2)  the same size and at least the same height as the 
previous use or structure, but not exceeding any size and height 
rule established under this subtitle; and
		(3)  relocated to a location with a comparable 
vehicular traffic count.
	SECTION 2.  Section 391.034, Transportation Code, is amended 
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(d)  The department may remove outdoor advertising that is 
erected or maintained in violation of this chapter without payment 
of compensation to the owner or lessee.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 391, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Section 391.038 to read as follows:
	Sec. 391.038.  OBSTRUCTION OF VIEW AND READABILITY.  (a) If 
the view and readability of outdoor advertising is obstructed due 
to a noise abatement or safety measure, a grade change, 
construction, an aesthetic improvement made by an agency of this 
state, a directional sign, or widening along a highway, the owner of 
the sign may:
		(1)  adjust the height of the sign; or                                 
		(2)  relocate the sign to a location within 500 feet of 
its previous location, if the sign complies with the spacing 
requirements under this chapter and is in a location in which 
outdoor advertising is permitted under Section 391.031 or 
department rules.
	(b)  A county or municipality in which the outdoor 
advertising is located shall, if necessary, provide for the height 
adjustment or relocation by a special exception to any applicable 
zoning ordinance.
	(c)  Notwithstanding any height requirements established 
under this subtitle, the adjusted or relocated outdoor advertising 
may be erected to a height and angle to make it clearly visible to 
traffic on the main-traveled way of the highway and must be the same 
size as the previous sign.
	SECTION 4.  Subtitle H, Title 6, Transportation Code, is 
amended by adding Chapter 398 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 398.  PROVISIONS GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO OUTDOOR SIGNS
	Sec. 398.001.  DEFINITION.  In this chapter, "off-premise 
sign" means an outdoor sign displaying advertising that pertains to 
a business, person, organization, activity, event, place, service, 
or product not principally located or primarily manufactured or 
sold on the premises on which the sign is located.
	Sec. 398.002.  RIGHTS OF OWNER OF CERTAIN SIGNS.  The rights 
associated with an off-premise sign that is lawfully in existence 
but no longer complies with current applicable laws and 
regulations, including laws and regulations promulgated under 
Chapters 391 and 394 of this code, and Chapter 216, Local Government 
Code, vest in the owner of the non-conforming off-premise sign.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.