H.B. No. 412
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to erecting or maintaining certain outdoor signs or
  advertising; creating an offense; providing penalties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 391.031(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if the person [wilfully]
  erects or maintains outdoor advertising, or allows outdoor
  advertising to be erected or maintained on property owned by the
  person:
               (1)  within 660 feet of the nearest edge of a
  right-of-way if the advertising is visible from the main-traveled
  way of the interstate or primary system; or
               (2)  outside an urban area if the advertising is
  located more than 660 feet from the nearest edge of a right-of-way,
  is visible from the main-traveled way of the interstate or primary
  system, and is erected for the purpose of having its message seen
  from the main-traveled way of the interstate or primary system.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 391.034, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 391.034.  [REMOVAL OF] NUISANCE OUTDOOR ADVERTISING;
  INJUNCTION [BY COMMISSION].
         SECTION 3.  Sections 391.035(a) and (c), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  In lieu of [addition to] being subject to a criminal
  penalty [or injunctive action], a person who intentionally violates
  this subchapter or Subchapter C may be [is] liable to the state for
  a civil penalty. The attorney general or a district or county
  attorney of the county in which the violation is alleged to have
  occurred may sue to collect the penalty.
         (c)  A penalty collected under this section shall be
  deposited to the credit of the state highway fund if collected by
  the attorney general and to the credit of the county road and bridge
  fund of the county in which the violation occurred if collected by a
  district or county attorney.
         SECTION 4.  Section 394.003, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  This chapter does not apply to a temporary directional
  sign or kiosk erected by a political subdivision as part of a
  program approved by the department and administered by the
  political subdivision on a highway within the boundaries of the
  political subdivision.
         SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 394.021, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 394.021.  ERECTING OFF-PREMISE SIGN WITHOUT PERMIT;
  OFFENSE.
         SECTION 6.  Section 394.021, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e)
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if the person erects [may
  not erect] an off-premise sign unless the person first obtains a
  permit under this subchapter from the commission.
         (c)  A person commits an offense if the person:
                     (1)  allows an off-premise sign to be erected on
  property owned by the person; and
                     (2)  knows or should have known that the sign was
  erected in violation of this chapter.
         (d)  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
  punishable by a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000. Each
  day of the proscribed conduct is a separate offense.
         (e)  It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under this
  chapter that the person removed the unauthorized sign not later
  than the 45th day after the date the person received a citation for
  the offense.  If the court is satisfied with the evidence produced
  by the person to establish a defense under this subsection, the
  court shall dismiss the charge.
         SECTION 7.  Section 394.081, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  In lieu of being subject to a criminal penalty, a [A]
  person who intentionally violates this chapter or a rule adopted by
  the commission under this chapter may be [is] liable [to the state]
  for a civil penalty of not less than $150 or more than $1,000 for
  each violation, depending on the seriousness of the violation and
  whether the person has previously violated this chapter.  Each day a
  violation continues is a separate violation.
         (c)  A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
  deposited to the credit of the state highway fund if collected by
  the attorney general and to the credit of the county road and bridge
  fund if collected by a district or county attorney.
         (d)  Before a suit may be brought against a property owner
  for a violation of Section 394.021(c), the attorney general or the
  district or county attorney for the county in which the violation is
  alleged to have occurred shall give the person charged with the
  violation a written notice that:
               (1)  describes the violation and specific location of
  the sign found to be in violation;
               (2)  states the amount of the proposed penalty for the
  violation; and
               (3)  gives the owner 45 days from receipt of the notice
  to remove the sign and cure the violation to avoid the penalty
  unless the person was found guilty or liable by a court for
  violating this chapter within the preceding six months.
         SECTION 8.  Subchapter E, Chapter 394, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 394.087 to read as follows:
         Sec. 394.087.  INJUNCTION. (a)  A sign that is erected in
  violation of this chapter is a public nuisance.
         (b)  On written notice by certified mail from the department
  or the county, an owner of a sign that is a public nuisance under
  Subsection (a), or the owner of the property on which the sign is
  located, shall remove the sign. If the sign is not removed within
  45 days of the date of the notice, the department may direct the
  attorney general to apply for an injunction to require the removal
  of the sign or a district or county attorney may apply for an
  injunction to require the removal of the sign.
         (c)  The state or county is entitled to recover from the
  owner of a sign, or the owner of the property from which a sign is
  removed, under an action brought under Subsection (b) all
  administrative and legal costs and expenses incurred to remove the
  sign, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
         SECTION 9.  (a) The change in law made by this Act to Section
  391.031, Transportation Code, applies only to an offense committed
  on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this
  section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this
  Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
         (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
  Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 412 was passed by the House on March
  28, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 412 on May 23, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 137, Nays 7, 2
  present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 412 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 18, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays
  1.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor