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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 984 By: Murdock
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5 AS INTRODUCED
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6 An Act relating to the Highway Advertising Control
6 Act of 1972; amending 69 O.S. 2021, Section 1273,
7 which relates to definitions; defining term; updating
7 statutory language; and providing an effective date.
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10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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11 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 69 O.S. 2021, Section 1273, is
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12 amended to read as follows:
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13 Section 1273. As used in Section 1271 et seq. of this title:
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14 (a) 1. "Sign", "outdoor advertising", or "outdoor advertising
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15 device" means any outdoor sign, display, device, notice, figure,
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16 painting, drawing, message, placard, poster, billboard, or other
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17 thing which is designed, intended, or used to advertise or inform,
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18 but shall not include surface markers showing the location or route
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19 of underground utility facilities or pipelines or public telephone
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20 coin stations installed for emergency use.;
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21 (b) 2. "Main traveled way" means the traveled way of a highway
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22 on which through traffic is carried. In the case of a divided
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23 highway, the traveled way of each of the separated roadways for
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24 traffic in opposite directions is a main traveled way. It does not
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Req. No. 413 Page 1
1 include such facilities as frontage roads, turning roadways, or
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2 parking areas.;
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3 (c) 3. "To erect" and its variants means to construct, build,
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4 raise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create, paint, draw, or in
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5 any other way bring into being or establish. But these shall not
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6 include any of the foregoing activities when performed as incident
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7 to the change of advertising message or customary maintenance of the
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8 sign structure.;
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9 (d) 4. "Unzoned commercial or industrial areas" means those
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10 areas which are not zoned by state or local law, regulation, or
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11 ordinance, and on which there is located one or more permanent
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12 structures devoted to a commercial or industrial activity or on
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13 which a commercial or industrial activity is actually conducted,
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14 whether or not a permanent structure is located thereon, and the
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15 area along the highway extending outward six hundred (600) feet from
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16 and beyond the edge of such activity on both sides of the highway.
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17 Provided, however, the unzoned area shall not include land on the
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18 opposite side of an interstate or dual-laned limited access primary
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19 highway from the commercial or industrial activity establishing the
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20 unzoned commercial or industrial area or land on the opposite side
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21 of other federal-aid primary highways, which land is deemed scenic
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22 by an appropriate agency of the state.
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23 All measurements shall be from the outer edges of the regularly
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24 used buildings, parking lots, storage, or processing areas of the
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Req. No. 413 Page 2
1 commercial or industrial activities, not from the property lines of
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2 the activities, and shall be along or parallel to the edge of
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3 pavement of the highway. Such an area shall not include any area
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4 which is beyond six hundred sixty (660) feet from the nearest edge
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5 of the right-of-way. In unzoned commercial or industrial areas
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6 signs shall not be located:
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7 (1)
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8 a. Within within three hundred (300) feet of any building
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9 used primarily as a residence, unless the owner of the
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10 building consents in writing to allow the sign to
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11 exist;, or
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12 (2)
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13 b. Within within five hundred (500) feet of any of the
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14 following: public park, garden, recreation area or
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15 forest preserve, church, school, and officially
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16 designated historical battlefield.
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17 All spacing considerations are determined by whether or not they
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18 exist within the adjacent or control area.;
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19 (e) 5. "Commercial and industrial activities" means those
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20 activities, clearly visible from the main traveled way, generally
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21 recognized as commercial or industrial by zoning authorities in this
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22 state, except that none of the following shall be considered
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23 commercial or industrial:
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24 (1)
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Req. No. 413 Page 3
1 a. Agricultural agricultural, forestry, ranching,
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2 grazing, farming, and related activities, including,
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3 but not limited to, wayside fresh produce stands;,
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4 (2)
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5 b. Outdoor outdoor advertising structures;,
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6 (3)
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7 c. Transient transient or temporary activities;,
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8 (4)
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9 d. Activities activities more than six hundred sixty
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10 (660) feet from the nearest edge of the right-of-way;,
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11 (5)
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12 e. Activities activities conducted in a building
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13 principally used as a residence;, and
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14 (6)
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15 f. Railroad railroad tracks and minor sidings.;
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16 (f) 6. "Official signs" means signs and notices erected and
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17 maintained by public officers or public agencies within their
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18 territorial jurisdiction and pursuant to and in accordance with
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19 direction or authorization contained in federal or state law for the
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20 purposes of carrying out an official duty or responsibility.;
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21 (g) 7. "Informational signs" means signs containing directions
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22 or information about public places owned or operated by federal,
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23 state, or local governments or their agencies, publicly or privately
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24 owned natural phenomena, historic, cultural, educational, and
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1 religious sites, and areas of natural scenic beauty or naturally
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2 suited for outdoor recreation, deemed to be in the interest of the
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3 traveling public.;
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4 (h) 8. "On-premise activities signs" means signs advertising
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5 activities conducted upon the property on which the signs are
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6 located.;
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7 (i) 9. "On-premise sale or lease signs" means signs advertising
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8 the sale or lease of property on which they are located.;
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9 (j) 10. "Interstate highway" means any highway at any time
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10 officially designated a part of the National System of Interstate
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11 and Defense Highways by the Department and approved by the
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12 appropriate authority of the federal government.;
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13 (k) 11. "Primary highway" means the Federal-aid Primary System
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14 in existence on June 1, 1991, and any highway which is not on that
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15 system but is on the National Highway System.;
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16 (l) 12. "Centerline of the highway" means a line equidistant
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17 from the edges of the median separating the main traveled ways of a
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18 divided highway, or the centerline of the main traveled way of a
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19 nondivided highway.;
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20 (m) 13. "Adjacent area" or "control area" means the area which
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21 is adjacent to and within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the
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22 nearest edge of the right-of-way on any interstate or primary
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23 highway within urban areas, which six hundred sixty-foot six-
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24 hundred-sixty-foot distance shall be measured horizontally along a
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1 line perpendicular to, or ninety (90) degrees to, the centerline of
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2 the highway. Outside of urban areas, adjacent area or control area
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3 means the area which is visible from the main traveled way on any
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4 interstate or primary highway.;
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5 (n) 14. "Business area" means any part of a control area which
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6 is:
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7 (1)
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8 a. Within within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the
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9 nearest edge of the right-of-way and zoned for
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10 business, industrial, or commercial activities under
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11 the authority of any state zoning law, or city or
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12 county zoning ordinance of this state;, or
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13 (2)
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14 b. Not not so zoned, but which constitutes an unzoned
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15 commercial or industrial area as herein defined.;
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16 (o) 15. "Department" means the Department of Transportation of
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17 the State of Oklahoma. this state;
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18 (p) 16. "Maintain" means to hold or keep in a state of
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19 efficiency or validity, to support or sustain, by cleaning or
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20 repairing the sign or changing the message on its face.;
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21 (q) 17. "Visible" means capable of being seen without visual
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22 aid by a person of normal visual acuity.;
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1 (r) 18. "License" means the privilege to do business in the
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2 State of Oklahoma this state having been granted by an official
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3 agency.;
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4 (s) 19. "Permit" means the privilege to erect a sign or signs
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5 in an individual location within the State of Oklahoma this state
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6 having been granted by an official agency.;
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7 (t) 20. "License fee" means the monetary consideration paid for
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8 the privilege of doing business in the State of Oklahoma. this
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9 state;
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10 (u) 21. "Permit fee" means the monetary consideration paid for
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11 the privilege of erecting a sign or signs in a specific location
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12 within the State of Oklahoma. this state;
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13 (v) 22. "Urban area" means an urbanized area or, in the case of
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14 an urbanized area encompassing more than one state, that part of the
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15 urbanized area in each such state, or an urban place as designated
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16 by the United States Bureau of the Census having a population of
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17 five thousand (5,000) or more and not within any urbanized area,
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18 within boundaries to be fixed by responsible state and local
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19 officials in cooperation with each other, subject to approval by the
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20 Secretary of Transportation. Such boundaries shall, as a minimum,
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21 encompass the entire urban place designated by the United States
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22 Bureau of the Census.;
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23 (w) 23. "Relocation permit" means a permit issued pursuant to
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24 the provisions of subparagraph (d) d of paragraph (3) 3 of Section
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1 1275 of this title. A relocation permit shall have precedence over
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2 any municipal or county restriction that interferes with the
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3 intended purpose of providing a method and opportunity to minimize
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4 the cost of acquiring legally erected outdoor advertising signs by
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5 the Department; provided, however, for those municipalities with a
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6 population in excess of five hundred thousand (500,000) based on the
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7 most recent census data, neither a relocation permit nor any outdoor
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8 advertising sign permit shall be issued in those areas in which a
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9 municipality or county has lawfully enacted a prohibition on the
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10 erection of an outdoor advertising sign. This section shall not
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11 prohibit a registered sign owner from seeking just compensation
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12 through a legal proceeding.; and
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13 24. "Playground" means an outdoor space that contains
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14 permanently affixed playground equipment where the primary use is
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15 for children to play, excluding those spaces where playground
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16 equipment is an accessory use to a commercial enterprise or is
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17 located on a privately owned residential property for use by the
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18 resident.
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19 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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21 60-1-413 MSBB 1/19/2025 5:47:13 AM
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Req. No. 413 Page 8Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.