H645 - Revisions to Outdoor Advertising Laws. (Ratified)

Overview: House Bill 645, vetoed by the Governor on August 22, 2019, would amend the laws pertaining to outdoor advertising, to do all of the following:

• Allow for relocation and reconstruction of outdoor advertising signs, with specified criteria to be met.
• Prohibit the North Carolina Department of Transportation from denying a sign relocation site due to the presence of vegetation obstructing the sign's visibility.
• Reduce the waiting period for a permitted outdoor advertising location to receive a selective vegetation removal permit from two years to one year, and exempt relocated signs from that waiting period.

If the bill were to become law, Section 4, pertaining to the relocation of lawfully existing outdoor advertising signs, would apply to signs removed on or after July 1, 2019. Section 7, prohibiting the Department of Transportation from denying a sign relocation site due to the presence of vegetation obstructing the sign's visibility, would be apply to outdoor advertising signs relocated on or after the date the bill becomes law. The remainder of the bill would become effective when it becomes law.