SB146 Alabama 2016 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Gerald H. AllenSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2016

Title

Highways, outdoor advertising, Highway Beautification Act amended, definitions, spacing, conformance with federal law, Secs. 23-1-271, 23-1-274 am'd.

Summary

SB146 updates Alabama's outdoor advertising rules to align with federal definitions and requirements for highways funded by federal aid, including business areas, primary highways, and sign spacing and size.

What This Bill Does

It adopts the federal definition of primary highways and updates several definitions to align with federal standards. It changes how a 'business area' is defined by removing the phrase 'at any time,' which may affect which adjacent areas are regulated. It revises spacing, size, and lighting rules for outdoor signs to be consistent with federal agreements, affecting where signs can be placed, how large they can be, and how far apart they must be from interchanges and from each other. It also clarifies which highways and zones are subject to these advertising controls and updates provisions governing existing versus new signs.

Who It Affects

• Outdoor advertising businesses and sign owners along federal-aid highways, who would need to comply with revised sign size (672 sq ft max for post-1995 signs; 1,200 sq ft for pre-1995 signs), height, length, brightness, and spacing rules, and who may be impacted by the broadened or shifted business-area definitions.
• State and local governments, including the Alabama Department of Transportation and local zoning authorities, who would implement and enforce the new definitions of primary highway and business area and ensure spacing and other requirements align with federal agreements.

Key Provisions

• Amends sections 23-1-271 and 23-1-274 to redefine 'business area' by removing the 'at any time' qualifier and to adopt a federal-style definition of 'primary highway.'
• Adopts the federal definition of 'primary highway' as non-interstate highways designated as part of the federal-aid primary system as of June 1, 1991, or highways on the National Highway System.
• Revises spacing requirements to be consistent with the Federal and State Agreement, applying different minimum distances between signs based on highway type and location (interstate/freeway vs. primary highways outside city zoning, inside city zoning, etc.).
• Specifies sign size and design limits: signs erected after July 15, 1995 may be up to 672 square feet, up to 14 feet high, and up to 48 feet long; signs in existence before July 15, 1995 may be up to 1,200 square feet, up to 30 feet high, and up to 60 feet long.
• Outlines general requirements for signs, including avoidance of imitation traffic signs, restrictions on signs on natural features, safety and maintenance standards, and removal of obsolete signs.
• Section 3 states the act becomes effective immediately after passage and approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Highways, Roads, and Bridges