HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

75

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

SUPPORTING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU'S BAN ON AERIAL ADVERTISING.

 

 

WHEREAS, Hawai`i is the one of four states that currently ban billboards, with Alaska, Maine, and Vermont, being the other three; and

WHEREAS, the Outdoor Circle was the lead organization in the fight to rid Hawai`i of billboards; and

WHEREAS, throughout its history, the Outdoor Circle has fought to keep billboards out of the state; and

WHEREAS, in 1926, the Outdoor Circle purchased the last billboard company in the territory and promptly shut it down; and

WHEREAS, in 1927, the Outdoor Circle spearheaded the passage of legislation to ban billboards within the territory; and

WHEREAS, this ban is codified within the Hawaii Revised Statutes and the Revised Ordinances of the City and County of Honolulu; and

WHEREAS, the most recent attack on the ban on billboards came in the case of Skysign International, Inc. v. City and County of Honolulu; and

WHEREAS, the District Court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state and county's power to ban billboards, holding that "advertising is an area traditionally subject to regulation under the states' police power, and [. . .] federal law does not displace Honolulu's regulatory authority over advertising absent a clear statement of federal intent to do so"; and

WHEREAS, the ban on billboards has served to keep Honolulu county free of visual clutter and preserves the natural beauty and sightlines that are so very important to public safety and tourism; and

WHEREAS, actions to repeal this ban would prove detrimental to the natural beauty of both Honolulu county and the State of Hawai`i, harming the important and marketable image of a pristine tourist destination, as well as jeopardizing the safety of motorist and pedestrian alike; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the House of Representatives steadfastly supports the continued ban on billboards within the City and County of Honolulu as well as the State of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, each member of the Honolulu City Council, the Governor, and the Outdoor Circle.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Ban on billboards; continued support