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Utah House approves bill easing billboard relocations near power lines after tense amendment fight
Summary
After extended floor debate and four failed amendment votes, the Utah House passed first substitute House Bill 394 to allow outdoor-advertising companies to relocate signs near high-voltage lines under specified limits; the measure passed 55-12 and moves to the Senate.
The Utah House on Feb. 23 passed first substitute House Bill 394, a measure that instructs how outdoor-advertising companies may relocate billboards that sit near high-voltage transmission lines. The bill passed 55-12 and will be sent to the Senate.
Sponsor Representative David Eure told colleagues the bill responds to safety risks for workers who maintain signs near power lines and to make relocation options economically feasible for both municipalities and sign owners. "This bill is brought to you because of a problem of billboards being located underneath high voltage lines," he said during floor remarks.
Representative Kevin Becker offered amendment number 3, a multisection package intended to limit the bill’s geographic reach, require on-site adjustments as the first option, cap heights and prevent governments from being required to pay when no relocation site is found. Becker said the changes were meant to preserve local control and prevent billboard companies from moving signs "wherever they want in our communities." Several other members raised concerns about local ordinances and the bill’s potential to preempt municipal authority.
Sponsor Representative Yore defended the compromise language negotiated with the League of Cities and Towns and representatives of the advertising industry, saying the bill limits relocations to commercially or industrially zoned streets within the same jurisdiction and forbids increasing sign size or height. "We already have industrial zones. Signs are already there... the 2,640 feet have to be within that city limits or within that jurisdiction," Yore said.
The House divided the Becker amendment into four parts and rejected each division in roll-call votes after extended debate about worker safety, local control, and the economic costs of raising signs. Representative Wallace moved the previous question to end debate; the motion carried and the body proceeded to final passage.
The bill’s backers said it is narrowly drafted to address worker safety where billboards sit under transmission lines, while opponents said it further limits cities’ authority to control signage at the local level.
First substitute House Bill 394 passed the House with 55 yes votes, 12 no votes. It will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.
