HB 427-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 427-FN
AN ACT prohibiting political advertising on public property.
SPONSORS: Rep. Watrous, Merr 12
This bill prohibits political advertising on public property and permits the state or a city or town to charge for removal and storage of improperly placed political advertising.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0819
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT prohibiting political advertising on public property.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
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. 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. 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. The state or a city or town may charge for the removal and storage of improperly placed political advertising.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
LBAO
11-0819
01/14/11
HB 427-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT prohibiting political advertising on public property.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Transportation states this bill may have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state revenues and expenditures in FY 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill may have an indeterminable impact on local revenues and expenditures in FY 2012 and in each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county revenues or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Transportation states this bill allows placement of political advertising on public lands without obtaining approval and also allows state and local governments to charge for the removal and storage of improperly placed political advertising. The Department states it is unable to determine this bill’s fiscal impact as potential costs and rates of reimbursement rates cannot be predicted.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states the analysis and title of this bill purport to prohibit the placement of political advertising on public property; however, the actual language of the bill does not amount to a prohibition. The Association states this bill would make the statute entirely silent regarding placement of political advertising place on public land, except that political advertising placed on public land may be removed by state, city or town maintenance for unspecified reasons and the state or municipality may charge for the removal and storage of improperly place political advertising. The Association states it is unclear as to the authority given to municipalities regarding recovering removal and storage costs under this bill and therefore it cannot predict the bill’s fiscal impact.
The Department of State states this bill would further restrict placement of campaign signs and as it is not responsible for monitoring the placement of campaign signs, it would not be fiscally impacted by this bill.