HB 554 - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0804
08/09
HOUSE BILL 554
SPONSORS: Rep. Andrus, Merr. 5; Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. Perez, Rock. 16; Rep. Rice, Hills. 38; Rep. See, Merr. 26; Rep. Sellers, Graf. 18; Rep. Turcotte, Straf. 4; Rep. H. Howard, Straf. 4; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. Pearl, Dist 17; Sen. Ward, Dist 8
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill designates the authority to decide where political signs will be placed in a municipality to that municipality.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0804
08/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Political Advertising; 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, except that municipalities may decide the locations of signs in that municipality. 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 for removal by 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 until one week after the election at a place designated by the state, city, or town so that the candidate, or a member of the candidate's campaign or local political committee of the same party may retrieve the items.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 18, 2025 | House | Hearing |
Feb. 12, 2025: Public Hearing: 02/18/2025 09:00 am LOB 201
Jan. 14, 2025: Introduced (in recess of) 01/09/2025 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 3 P. 15