CHAPTER 273
HB 349 – FINAL VERSION
04Jan2006… 0027h
03/22/06 1413s
04/06/06 1584s
24May2006… 2277cofc
2006 SESSION
03/01
HOUSE BILL 349
This bill:
I. Establishes procedures for the removal of political advertising placed on public property.
II. Eliminates the requirement that law enforcement provide 24-hour notice to a candidate before removing political advertising improperly placed on private property.
III. Eliminates the date requirements for placement of political advertising.
IV. Permits the placement of political advertising in state-owned rights-of-way under certain circumstances.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04Jan2006… 0027h
03/22/06 1413s
04/06/06 1584s
24May2006… 2277cofc
05-0609
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to placement and removal of political advertising.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
273:1 Placement and Removal of Political Advertising. Amend RSA 664:17 to read as follows:
664:17 Placement and Removal of Political Advertising. No political advertising shall be placed on or affixed to any public property including highway rights-of-way or private property without the owner’s consent. [The earliest date on which political advertising may be placed or affixed shall be the last Friday in July prior to a state primary.] All political advertising shall be removed by the candidate no later than the second Friday following the election unless the election is a primary and the advertising concerns a candidate who is a winner in the primary. Signs shall not be placed on or affixed to utility poles or highway signs. Political advertising may be placed within state-owned rights-of-way as long as the advertising does not obstruct the safe flow of traffic and the advertising is placed with the consent of the owner of the land over which the right-of-way passes. No person shall remove, deface, or knowingly destroy any political advertising which is placed on or affixed to public property or any private property except the owner of the property, persons authorized by the owner of the property, or a law enforcement officer removing improper advertising[; provided, however, that, before a law enforcement officer removes any advertisement, he shall notify the candidate that it is improper, and allow the candidate 24 hours to remove the advertisement himself]. Political advertising placed on or affixed to any public property may be removed by state, city, or town maintenance or law enforcement personnel. Political advertising removed prior to election day by state, city, or
town maintenance or law enforcement personnel shall be kept for one week at a place designated by the state, city, or town so that the candidate may retrieve the items.
273:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 15, 2006
Effective: August 14, 2006