Lawmaker wants to ban campaign signs from places like freeway overpasses and highway

Salt Lake City, Utah – Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork is threatening a bill that would ban campaign signs from places like freeway overpasses and highway on-and-off ramps.

“I’ve become more and more concerned. This campaign season, especially in Utah County, we have campaign signs all over the off-ramps and today what I saw were campaign signs literally in between I-15 and a merge lane which is extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous,” he said.

According to Sen. McKell, he would like to prohibit campaign signs from government properties, which would include highways, roads, and overpasses.

It may already be illegal if it impedes traffic, depending on where a political campaign sign is posted now.

The First Amendment protects political campaign signs, but there are carve-outs to allow for public safety and littering. Sen.

His bill would not make it a criminal offense, but the state could charge a fee to political campaigns to have Utah Department of Transportation employees remove any offending signs, McKell said.

According to Sen. McKell, the bill would be introduced in the 2023 legislative session.