An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Removal of Unlawful Signs
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1682
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: McLEAN, DIAMOND
Amends: 23 MRSA §1903, 23 MRSA §1913-A, 23 MRSA §1917

Legislative Document
No. 1682
H.P. 1206
House of Representatives, May 7, 2019
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Removal of Unlawful 
Signs
Submitted by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McLEAN of Gorham.
Cosponsored by Senator DIAMOND of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §1903, sub-§16-A is enacted to read:
16-A.  Urban compact municipality.  "Urban compact municipality" has the same 
meaning as described in section 754, subsection 2, paragraph B.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §1913-A, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 318, §3, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place:
5.  Prohibited practices.  None of the signs referred to in this section may be painted 
or drawn upon a rock or other natural feature or erected or maintained on:
A.  A traffic control sign or device;
B.  A public utility pole or fixture;
C.  A rotary traffic island;
D.  A tree in a public right-of-way;
E.  A control-of-access area; or
F.  A median less than 6 feet wide.
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §1917, sub-§§1, 2, and 5, as repealed and replaced by PL 
1981, c. 318, §4, are amended to read:
1.  Notice to remove.  The owner of a sign which that was or is unlawfully erected or 
maintained either prior to or after the effective date of this chapter shall be October 24, 
1977 is in violation of this chapter until the sign is removed. The owner of the sign shall 
remove the sign within 30 14 days of receipt of a notice to remove, sent by certified mail, 
return receipt requested, by the commissioner a notice from the agency that has 
responsibility for the maintenance of that public way. If the identity of such owner is not 
known or reasonably ascertainable by the commissioner, such notice may instead be sent 
to the owner of the land on which the sign is placed.
2.  Authority to remove sign.  If the owner fails to remove the sign as required, the 
commissioner department shall remove the sign if it is on a state or state aid highway that 
is not in an urban compact municipality and the governing municipality may remove the 
sign if it is located on a town way or state or state aid highway in an urban compact 
municipality at the expense of the owner without any further notice or proceeding and 
may recover the expense of this removal from the owner.
5.  Summary removal of illegal signs within the public right-of-way.  Signs which 
are A sign that is erected in nonconformance with this chapter and which are that is 
within the limits of any public right-of-way shall be is subject to immediate removal by 
the commissioner department if the public right-of-way is a state or state aid highway not 
in an urban compact municipality.  The department may remove any sign on any public 
right-of-way for the purposes of public safety.  A sign that is erected in nonconformance 
with this chapter and that is within the limits of a town way or a state or state aid highway 
in an urban compact municipality may be removed by the municipality having 
jurisdiction over that way or highway.
SUMMARY
This bill further restricts the placement of categorical signs by prohibiting their 
erection on trees, in control-of-access areas, within medians less than 6 feet in width and 
on islands within a rotary.  The bill reduces the number of days the owner of a sign 
erected in violation of the law has to remove the sign from 30 days to 14 days after notice 
and clarifies that the notice may be sent by the agency having control of the public way in 
which the sign has been erected.
The bill requires the Department of Transportation to remove any sign that has been 
placed in violation of the law if the public right-of-way is a state or state aid highway that 
is not within an urban compact municipality; the department may remove any sign on a 
public right-of-way for public safety purposes.  A municipality may remove any sign that 
has been placed in violation of the law on a town way or state or state aid highway that is 
in an urban compact municipality within that municipality’s jurisdiction.