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Minutes for HB2135 - Committee on Local Government
Short Title
Restrictions on city and county political sign regulations repealed.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 13, 2019
The Chair opened the hearing on HB2135.
The Chair opened the hearing on HB2135.
Staff Mike Heim briefed the Committee on the bill by tracing the history of KSA 25-2711, which was enacted by the Kansas Legislature in 2015 and prohibits a city or county from regulating or prohibiting political signs on private property or right-of-way 45 days prior to an election except to address safety issues .Mr. Heim briefed the committee on the US Supreme Court case Reed v. Town of Gilbert. Additionally, he briefed the Committee on the Kansas Attorney General's Opinion 2018-16 (Attachment 1), where the AG used analysis provided by the Supreme Court in Reed v. Town of Gilbert to opine that the Kansas law seeks to protect political speech and does not require that local jurisdictions treat other types of speech differently based on their content, but limits a local jurisdiction's conduct.
Proponents:
Jay Hall, General Counsel, Kansas Association of Counties, testified in support of the bill (Attachment 2). He said that under KSA 25-2711 during a seven-week period, anyone could place any sign in the right-of-way with no regulation and thus could create a safety issue for citizens as well as present an affront to esthetics. The bill will properly address this issue by allowing individual cities or counties to protect the safety of its citizens.
Mr. Hall responded to members' questions:
- Different cities have different regulations, depending on the circumstances. The issue is best left to local control.
- This bill does not address homeowners associations, only cities and counties.
- An identical bill last year passed the House but not the Senate.
- By allowing signs, a city might incur slightly more costs.
Amanda Stanley, General Counsel, League of Kansas Municipalities, also spoke in support of the bill and offered supplemental information on a Wichita Gentleman's Club that is creating concerns from neighbors (Attachment 3). She also noted that the bill repeals the current political sign statute that prohibits the regulation of political signs in the public right-of-way by cities and counties during the 45-day period prior to any election. She stated that the statute is unconstitutional and should be repealed because, taken to its logical conclusion, complying with both the state statue and the U.S. Constitution, a city might need to allow all signs at all times; all signs would be considered equal--such as placing an advertisement for adult entertainment next to a political sign. The common-sense approach is to allow signs to be regulated by local entities.
Ms. Stanley responded to members' queries:
- There is a broad range of interpretation as to what is political speech.
- Cities in close proximity to one another create a special challenge for regulation. A task force has created a national model sign ordinance, which I [Ms. Stanley] will send to Committee members.
- Sign regulation in the right-of-way is determined by who owns the adjacent property.
- Sign regulations can be much more flexible at the local level.
A member commented that determining ownership, easements, and right-of-way has caused significant confusion. Another member questioned the need for the bill.
The following written-only testimony was provided in support of the bill:
- The City of Overland Park (Attachment 4);
- The City of Manhattan (Attachment 5);
- The City of Olathe (Attachment 6); and
- The Cities of Eudora, Haysville, Topeka, Wichita, Dodge City, and the United Government of Wyandotte County (Attachment 7).
Opponents:
Keith Esau, private citizen, spoke in opposition to the bill (Attachment 8). He commented that at every election cycle there is some effort to restrict homeowner rights to display yard signs and thus restrict an individual's right to free speech; he urged members not to infringe on this basic right by passing the bill. Responding to a question, he replied that the state needs to provide uniformity in order to protect citizens from arbitrary decisions by local entities.
The Chair noted written-only opposition to the bill by:
- Barb and Dennis Kriegshauser, Overland Park (Attachment 9),
- Carol Losey, Roeland Park (Attachment 10), and
- Steve Snitz, Prairie Village (Attachment 11).
The Chair closed the hearing on HB2135.
