2001 SESSION

01-0056

03/09

HOUSE BILL 159

COMMITTEE: Election Law

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Permits a property owner to place political advertising on public property which the owner maintains and which is contiguous to the owner's property.

II. Permits a municipal employee or designee to remove improper political advertising which is placed on or affixed to private property.

III. Requires that a law enforcement officer or municipal employee or designee provide actual notice to the candidate or the candidate's fiscal agent of the intent to remove improper advertising from public or private property.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

01-0056

03/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Elections; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Placement and Removal of Political Advertising; Removal Powers. Amend RSA 664:17 to read as follows:

664:17 Placement and Removal of Political Advertising. No political advertising shall be placed on or affixed to any public property including highway rights-of-way or private property without the owner's consent; provided, however, that a property owner may place political advertising on public property which the owner maintains and which is contiguous to the owner's property. The earliest date on which political advertising may be placed or affixed shall be the last Friday in July prior to a state primary. All political advertising shall be removed by the candidate no later than the second Friday following the election unless the election is a primary and the advertising concerns a candidate who is a winner in the primary. No person shall remove, deface, or knowingly destroy any political advertising which is placed on or affixed to any private property except the owner of the property, or a law enforcement officer, municipal employee or designee, or candidate removing improper advertising[; provided, however, that, before a law enforcement officer removes any advertisement, he shall notify the candidate that it is improper, and allow the candidate 24 hours to remove the advertisement himself]. No law enforcement officer or municipal employee or designee shall remove improper advertising from public or private property until 24 hours after the officer, employee, or designee has provided actual notice to the candidate or the candidate's fiscal agent of the intent to remove the advertising.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.