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Subcommittee advances bill to clarify exemption for single-pole billboard installers
Summary
A legislative subcommittee unanimously advanced House Bill 4,730 after industry witnesses and an LLR liaison said a drafting typo created uncertainty about whether installers of single-pole billboard structures must hold general contractor licenses. The amendment corrects the language and sends the bill to full committee.
A legislative subcommittee on January 28 voted unanimously to advance House Bill 4,730, which clarifies that installers of single-pole billboard structures are exempt from the general contractor license requirement.
Industry representatives from the Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina, Adams Outdoor Advertising and Lamar Advertising told the panel the exemption dates to a 2016 policy change but that a drafting typo created ambiguity for local permitting officials. "The installers of billboard advertising structures are not required to have general contractors," said Fred Allen, who represents the Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina, explaining the historical intent behind the exemption.
Alana Hopkins, real estate manager for Adams Outdoor Advertising in the Charleston–Hilton Head–Beaufort market, described the build and inspection process for billboard structures, saying engineering drawings, licensed engineers, licensed welders and municipal foundation and final inspections are standard. "To require a billboard company who solely builds these for our own use, it's gonna cause an undue amount of expense and time for the company," Hopkins said, asking the committee to approve the cleanup language by unanimous consent.
Mason Sullivan, real estate manager for Lamar Advertising in Columbia, urged passage and said the exemption is "practical and much, much needed," noting the specialized nature of billboard installation and that obtaining a general contractor license "requires over 300 hours of classroom instruction." Sullivan also told the committee the engineering for a structure covers wind and weight loads and that the clarification would apply to digital as well as static faces so long as the structure's engineering supports the load.
Virginia Wetzel, governmental affairs liaison at LLR, provided regulatory history and said the originally written local building language "did not address structures. It just says billboards," which led LLR to issue guidance that created the current uncertainty. Wetzel said the LLR board would not take a policy position and left the decision to the legislature.
The chair presented a one-line amendment inserting the words "single pole" before "billboard structure" to ensure the exemption references the support structure specifically. After a motion and a second (second referenced as Lisonbee), the committee voted "aye" with no opposition; the chair recorded the amendment and the amended bill as unanimously approved and directed that House Bill 4,730 advance to the full committee.
The subcommittee adjourned with no further business. The bill will next be considered by the full committee; no date for that hearing was specified in the subcommittee record.
