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Utah Senate rejects statewide digital-billboard measure after heated debate over local control
Summary
Senators debated third substitute SB 61 — a bill offering a delayed statewide path for converting static billboards to digital displays with brightness and curfew limits — but the measure failed on a 12–15 vote after weeks of negotiation and floor amendments. Sponsors framed the delayed effective date as an incentive for local negotiations; opponents warned it would undercut municipal authority.
The Utah Senate voted down third substitute Senate Bill 61 on March 5, after extended floor debate over whether the state should create a delayed, statewide mechanism to allow some outdoor billboards to convert to digital displays.
Sponsor Senator Sandel, who carried the measure, said the bill was a compromise meant to force city-by-city negotiations between billboard companies and municipalities. Sandel said the bill would not permit immediate conversions and that "no new billboards" would be authorized by the measure as written and that the delayed effective date was an incentive for parties to negotiate (Sen.…
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