AN ACT Relating to political campaign signs; amending RCW 47.42.040; adding a new chapter to Title 42 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. As used in this chapter and RCW 47.42.040, "political campaign sign" includes, but is not limited to, any outdoor notice, placard, or poster containing written or pictorial matter urging the election of a candidate for partisan or nonpartisan office or the adoption or rejection of a ballot measure.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Political campaign signs shall not be displayed in public view more than sixty days prior to and five days after the date of the primary or election for which they are intended. No person may erect, place, or maintain a political campaign sign upon the right of way of any highway, street, or road.

(2) Before a political campaign sign is erected or placed in public view, the person or entity owning the sign shall post a cash deposit or bond with the county auditor of the county in which the person or entity resides. The deposit or bond shall be in the amount of five hundred dollars for campaigns for state offices and campaigns concerning state-wide ballot measures, and two hundred dollars for all other campaigns. The deposit or bond shall be refunded by the county auditor within fourteen days of the filing of a sworn statement by the person posting the deposit or bond that all of the person's political campaign signs that were placed or erected have been removed from public view within the deadline established under subsection (1) of this section. Such a statement shall be filed with the auditor not later than seven days of the primary or the election for which the signs were intended or the money or bond posted shall be forfeited to the county.

(3) Political campaign signs shall be no larger than eight feet by four feet in size.

(4) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor. False swearing under this section is a misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The provisions of this chapter do not prohibit a city, town, or county from enacting or enforcing laws which regulate more restrictively the erection, placement, or maintenance of political campaign signs.

Sec. 4. Section 4, chapter 96, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 3, chapter 376, Laws of 1985 and RCW 47.42.040 are each amended to read as follows:

It is declared to be the policy of the state that no signs which are visible from the main traveled way of the interstate system, primary system, or scenic system shall be erected or maintained except the following types:

(1) Directional or other official signs or notices that are required or authorized by law;

(2) Signs advertising the sale or lease of the property upon which they are located;

(3) Signs advertising activities conducted on the property on which they are located;

(4) Signs, not inconsistent with the policy of this chapter and the national policy set forth in section 131 of title 23, United States Code as codified and enacted by Public Law 85-767 and amended only by section 106, Public Law 86-342, and the national standards promulgated thereunder by the secretary of commerce or the secretary of transportation, advertising activities being conducted at a location within twelve miles of the point at which such signs are located: PROVIDED, That no sign lawfully erected pursuant to this subsection adjacent to the interstate system and outside commercial and industrial areas shall be maintained by any person after three years from May 10, 1971;

(5) Signs, not inconsistent with the policy of this chapter and the national policy set forth in section 131 of title 23, United States Code as codified and enacted by Public Law 85-767 and amended only by section 106, Public Law 86-342, and the regulations promulgated thereunder by the secretary of commerce or the secretary of transportation, designed to give information in the specific interest of the traveling public: PROVIDED, That no sign lawfully erected pursuant to this subsection adjacent to the interstate system and outside commercial and industrial areas shall be maintained by any person after three years from May 10, 1971;

(6) Signs lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965, determined by the commission, subject to the approval of the United States secretary of transportation, to be landmark signs, including signs on farm structures or natural surfaces, of historic or artistic significance the preservation of which would be consistent with the purposes of chapter 47.42 RCW;

(7) Public service signs, located on school bus stop shelters, which:

(a) Identify the donor, sponsor, or contributor of said shelters;

(b) Contain safety slogans or messages which occupy not less than sixty percent of the area of the sign;

(d) Are located on school bus shelters which are authorized or approved by city, county, or state law, regulation, or ordinance, and at places approved by the city, county, or state agency controlling the highway involved; and

(e) Do not exceed thirty-two square feet in area. Not more than one sign on each shelter may face in any one direction.

Subsection (7) of this section notwithstanding, the department of transportation shall adopt regulations relating to the appearance of school bus shelters, the placement, size, and public service content of public service signs located thereon, and the prominence of the identification of the donors, sponsors, or contributors of the shelters((.));

(8) Temporary agricultural directional signs, with the following restrictions:

(a) Signs shall be posted only during the period of time the seasonal agricultural product is being sold;

(b) Signs shall not be placed adjacent to the interstate highway system unless the sign qualifies as an on-premise sign;

(d) Premises on which the seasonal agricultural products are sold must be within fifteen miles of the state highway, and necessary supplemental signing on local roads must be provided before the installation of the signs on the state highway;

(e) Signs must be located so as not to restrict sight distances on approaches to intersections;

(f) The department shall establish a permit system and fee schedule and rules for the manufacturing, installation, and maintenance of these signs in accordance with the policy of this chapter;

(g) Signs in violation of these provisions shall be removed in accordance with the procedures in RCW 47.42.080;

(9) Political campaign signs, as defined in section 1 of this 1987 act. The department shall adopt rules for the size and placement of such signs.

Only signs of types 1, 2, 3, 7, ((~~and~~)) 8, and 9 may be erected or maintained within view of the scenic system. Signs of types 7 ((~~and~~)), 8, and 9 may also be erected or maintained within view of the federal aid primary system. Type 9 signs shall not be visible from the main traveled way of the interstate system.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 through 3 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 42 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.