Street Sign Amendment to Highway Bill
Set to Advance in US Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – An amendment authored by U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has been included in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s substitute amendment to the highway bill (S. 1813). The Reid amendment was introduced last week and is currently pending on the Senate floor.
The compromise language included in Sen. Reid’s substitute amendment would give the U.S. Transportation Department 180 days after the bill becomes law to set up a process to allow municipalities to be exempted from federal standards for historic street signs. This would allow municipalities to keep historic street signs, preserving the unique character of many communities.
“I am pleased that Majority Leader Reid has included my street signs measure in his highway bill package. While I believe decisions like these are best made by state and local governments, this compromise language is a step in the right direction to address government overreach.” Sen. Toomey said.
Officials in Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion Township reached out to Sen. Toomey in early 2011 about upcoming enforcement of a longstanding Transportation Department mandate that would require all municipalities to replace their current street signs with new signs that meet federally approved reflectivity standards. According to the mandate, local towns would be responsible for paying for the replacement of current street signs.
Thanks to Sen. Toomey's work on this issue, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced in late August that the department would eliminate the street sign replacement mandate that all signs be replaced by 2018 if they were not up to these regulations. Instead, replacement signs would need to meet the federal regulations.
While an important concession, this left communities with historic signs with no choice but to get rid of their signs in the future when the historic signs needed replaced. In response, Sen. Toomey introduced the SIGN Act (S. 2021) in December, which leaves it up to states and local governments to decide how to regulate street signs.
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The compromise language included in Sen. Reid’s substitute amendment would give the U.S. Transportation Department 180 days after the bill becomes law to set up a process to allow municipalities to be exempted from federal standards for historic street signs. This would allow municipalities to keep historic street signs, preserving the unique character of many communities.
“I am pleased that Majority Leader Reid has included my street signs measure in his highway bill package. While I believe decisions like these are best made by state and local governments, this compromise language is a step in the right direction to address government overreach.” Sen. Toomey said.
Officials in Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion Township reached out to Sen. Toomey in early 2011 about upcoming enforcement of a longstanding Transportation Department mandate that would require all municipalities to replace their current street signs with new signs that meet federally approved reflectivity standards. According to the mandate, local towns would be responsible for paying for the replacement of current street signs.
Thanks to Sen. Toomey's work on this issue, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced in late August that the department would eliminate the street sign replacement mandate that all signs be replaced by 2018 if they were not up to these regulations. Instead, replacement signs would need to meet the federal regulations.
While an important concession, this left communities with historic signs with no choice but to get rid of their signs in the future when the historic signs needed replaced. In response, Sen. Toomey introduced the SIGN Act (S. 2021) in December, which leaves it up to states and local governments to decide how to regulate street signs.
The news leader of the Twin Tiers ...since 1947
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