Bill Text: NH HB423 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requiring the consent of property owners for the placement of political advertisements on public property abutting their land.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-29 - Executive Session: 02/04/2025 10:10 am Legislative Office Building 306-308 [HB423 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2025-HB423-Introduced.html
HB 423 - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0737
07/08
HOUSE BILL 423
SPONSORS: Rep. Weyler, Rock. 14; Rep. L. Walsh, Rock. 15; Rep. P. Brown, Rock. 14
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Requires the consent of the closest abutting property owner to a public rights-of-way prior to the placement of political advertisements on said public property.
II. Allows a private citizen whose property abuts public property to remove or take down political advertisements on said public property.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0737
07/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Political Advertising; Placement and Removal of Political Advertising; Removal of Advertisements on Public Property by Private Property Owners. Amend RSA 664:17 to read as follows:
664:17 Placement and Removal of Political Advertising. No political advertising shall be placed on or affixed to any public property including highway rights-of-way or private property without the owner's consent. All political advertising shall be removed by the candidate no later than the second Friday following the election unless the election is a primary and the advertising concerns a candidate who is a winner in the primary. Signs shall not be placed on or affixed to utility poles or highway signs. Political advertising may be placed within state-owned rights-of-way as long as the advertising does not obstruct the safe flow of traffic and the advertising is placed with the consent of the property owner who is the closest abutter [owner of the land over which the right-of-way passes]. No person shall remove, deface, or knowingly destroy any political advertising which is placed on or affixed to public property or any private property except for removal by the owner of the property, persons authorized by the owner of the property, the nearest abutter who did not give consent, or a law enforcement officer removing improper advertising. Political advertising placed on or affixed to any public property may be removed by state, city, or town maintenance or law enforcement personnel. The nearest abutter who objects to a political advertisement may cover it or place it flat on the ground. Such person shall then attach to the advertisement a copy of this section and a document identifying themselves and their address. Political advertising removed prior to election day by state, city, or town maintenance or law enforcement personnel shall be kept until one week after the election at a place designated by the state, city, or town so that the candidate, or a member of the candidate's campaign or local political committee of the same party may retrieve the items.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
