An Act To Promote Small Businesses by Enhancing the Use of On-premises Signs
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0483
Committee Amendment CA_A_H65 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A" to H.P. 333, L.D. 483, Bill, "An Act To 
Promote Small Businesses by Enhancing the Use of On-premises Signs" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 1 to 4. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 6. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 8 to 14 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 8. 23 MRS A §1913-A, sub-§l, ~A, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 318, §3, is 
amended to read: 
A. Signs of a duly constituted governmental body, a soil and water conservation 
district ef, regional planning district or public facility as defined in Title 27, section 
452, subsection 5;' 
Amend the bill in section 15 in subsection ll-A in paragraph B in subparagraph (1) 
in the first line (page 4, line 8 in L.D.) by striking out the following: 
"every 20 
minutes per minute" and inserting the following: 'every 2-() 2 minutes' 
Amend the bill in section 15 in subsection ll-A by striking out all of paragraphs E 
and F (page 4, lines 31 to 36 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'E. Changeable signs may not be located so that the message is readable from a 
controlled-access highway or ramp. 
F. The highest point of the display of a changeable sign may not exceed a height of 
feet above either the centerline of the nearest public way or actual ground level 
adjacent to the sign, whichever is lower.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the minority report, strikes from the bill the following: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A" to H.P. 333, L.D. 483 
1. The change to legislative findings under the Maine traveler information services 
law; 
2. 
The definitions of "outdoor area" and "principal structure" for purposes of 
determining distance for placement of on-premises signs; 
3. The increase of the distance that a sign may be erected from a principal structure 
of a business or point of interest from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet; 
4. The provision allowing on-premises signs to be placed within 20 feet of the edge 
of the paved portion of certain public ways with more than 2 travel lanes only if the signs 
are erected using approved breakaway mounting devices; 
5. The provision repealing the authority of the Commissioner of Transportation to 
waive the prohibition on the placement of certain on-premises signs within 20 feet of the 
edge of the paved portion of certain public ways; 
6. The increase of the number of approach signs, from 2 to 3, a business or point of 
interest may have on its lot of record if that business or point of interest is not visible 
from the nearest public way or is located more than 1,000 feet from a public way 
intersection and the expansion of the limit of the total surface area to 100 square feet per 
side; 
7. The provision allowing changeable signs to be erected adjacent to and for viewing 
from the interstate highway system; and 
8. The increase of the maximum height of on-premises signs statewide from 25 feet 
to 35 feet above grade. 
The amendment allows changeable signs to change once every 5 minutes, instead of 
once per minute as proposed by the bill; current law limits the change to once every 20 
minutes. 
The amendment also adds signs of a public facility, as defined by the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 27, section 452, subsection 5, to the list of categorical signs that may be 
erected and maintained without license or permit. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT