Michael Berg
Sept. 14, 2011
Missourians Maintain Control of Billboards
Sierra Club Helps Sustain Gov. Nixon's Veto of HB 430
In June, the Missouri Sierra Club asked Governor Jay Nixon to veto House Bill
430. We applaud the governor for listening to us and vetoing the bill. This
legislation would have given excessive power to the billboard industry at the expense
of Missourians.
But the victory was still not complete as the veto still faced the threat of a
legislative override.
On September 14, thanks to the efforts of Missouri Sierra Club members the
Missouri State House declined to vote on overriding Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of
House Bill 430. That means that we won!
If the veto had been overridden, our state would have paid a heavy environmental
price, including:
* more and larger billboards across the state.
* more electric billboards, which use as much power as 30 homes.
* more visual pollution obscuring our beautiful state.
Thanks to 336 Sierra Club members who sent emails to their state representative,
and the hard work of dedicated Sierra Club activists, we were able to defeat the
billboard lobby and win a victory for environmental sanity.
This result proves the power of grassroots action, and what Sierra Club members
can do when we mobilize statewide.
Please take a quick moment to thank
Governor Nixon for vetoing HB 430.
Below is the letter from Missouri Sierra Club Director John Hickey sent early
this summer to Governor
Jay Nixon Regarding House Bill 430.
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The Honorable Jay Nixon
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
June 22, 2011
Dear Governor Nixon,
The Sierra Club (Missouri Chapter) is writing to ask you to veto HB 430 because
of the harmful billboard language that was added to the bill at the very end of
the legislative session. The Club is deeply concerned that the legislation will
further erode Missouri’s natural beauty and limit the ability of local
communities to preserve their character by prohibiting billboards.
The current state billboard law, while not perfect, has stopped the unchecked
billboard proliferation that ruined our roadside character over the course of
the 1980s and 1990s. Improvements to the minimum spacing requirements enacted in
2002 have been particularly beneficial to the state. Billboards that are closer
than 1,400’ from another one are allowed to remain, but they cannot be converted
to new technology or relocated to another spot. Unfortunately, HB 430 would undo
these protections that strike a balance between allowing billboards and
protecting the true character of a scenic and beautiful Missouri.
The weakening of the 2002 law would add an even more intrusive and damaging form
of pollution to Missouri’s landscapes through the proliferation of digital
billboards. In addition to increasing driver distraction, these new billboards
have substantial negative environmental impacts compared to traditional signs:
they consume a tremendous amount of energy (using as much as 30 times as the
average household) and substantially increase light pollution.
And finally, local communities must remain free to prohibit new billboards if
they wish. Attractive communities attract residents and businesses, and hundreds
of communities across the nation have found that one of the easiest ways to
promote beauty and preserve character is simply to not allow more billboards
than what they already may have.
Please don’t let Missouri’s communities and rural landscapes be assaulted by a
weakened billboard law. We urge you to veto a seriously flawed and damaging HB
430.
Sincerely,
John Hickey
Chapter Director