The State House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed a measure Friday aimed at constricting what the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) can display on dynamic message signs along the state’s highways.
“So, they [ADOT] do put on things, sometimes, that are not related to transportation, and that would be, I think, inappropriate,” said State Rep. Neal Carter (R-Casa Grande), the bill’s sponsor, to the committee. “What we’re worried about is the government effectively using it [the signs] as a kind of advertisement for other things.”
During the hearing, committee Chairman, Rep. David Cook (R-Globe), brought up signs ADOT displayed in the past that promoted the COVID-19 vaccine. Carter stated that was a “good example” of a message the department could not display under the bill.
In 2021, a sign along Arizona’s highways said, “Want to return to normal? Get vaccinated.” Former Republican State Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-Apache Junction) said this kind of messaging would be seen in Communist China.
Seen in Communist China today.
Oops, I mean Arizona. pic.twitter.com/7dCiZsi7UQ— Kelly Townsend (@AZKellyT) May 6, 2021
As reported by KAWC, the message disappeared days after Townsend pointed it out. However, ADOT maintained that it did nothing wrong by displaying the sign because the president had declared a national emergency regarding COVID-19. Additionally, former Gov. Doug Ducey’s (R) administration backed the sign’s message. During the hearing, Carter said displaying the vaccine message may have been a requirement for the state to receive federal COVID funds.
Carter’s House Bill (HB) 2586 states that ADOT may only display messages directly related to transportation, highway public safety, and amber, silver, and blue alerts. The federal government already has stipulations similar to these for highway message signs. Additionally, Carter said that laws like this already exist in other states, and it is a “slippery slope” to allow nonelected members of a government agency to decide what topics are “worthy” of being displayed to residents.
ADOT did not have any comments to share regarding this pending legislation at this time.
Furthermore, State House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande) shared during the meeting that she worked under the former Arizona Secretary of State Michele Regan (R). She explained that the office wanted to promote voter registration on the signs, but ADOT said no. However, Martinez said under the next administration, ADOT allowed messages related to elections. Carter said his bill would create uniformity in what ADOT approves to display.
“This is exactly what we are trying to address because as it is now, ADOT kind of makes up whether they’re going to put something on [a sign] or not, and really, that should be clear policy,” Carter said.
Other messages that could not be displayed are condolences for a fallen public servant, like a firefighter, “no burn” day announcements, or anything relating to wildfires or national forests. Nevertheless, for drivers that enjoy comedic slogans like “driver hammered, get nailed,” Carter stated these phrases would still be allowed if they relate to transportation.
However, when it came time to vote on the bill, not everyone was in favor. Freshman State Rep. Leezah Sun (D-Phoenix) stated she was ok with prohibiting messages like the vaccine one but thought the ban was too expansive and should allow for statements unrelated to traffic but harmless in the long run, to be displayed. Ultimately, the bill passed the committee with a bipartisan seven to four vote. The bill must now receive favor from the House floor.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Highway Electronic Sign” by Kelly Townsend.
