Maryland?s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union threatened legal action against Baltimore County if officials allow a newly passed bill limiting the life span of political signs to take effect.
Members of the County Council earlier this week passed a bill limiting the display of campaign signs on private property to 45 days before a primary election. The bill ? a downscaled version of a proposal that included restrictions on sign size and the number of signs per yard ? is scheduled to take effect Feb. 1.
“The law passed by the County Council is patently unconstitutional and, if it?s allowed to take effect February 1, we will challenge it,” said ACLU Maryland spokeswoman Meredith Curtis. “We would hope the County Council would not waste taxpayers? money defending a restriction on their constitutional right to speak.”
County attorneys said they stand by the bill, which was sponsored by Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, D-District 2. Kamenetz said the signs can be eyesores and traffic hazards and called the bill an extension of other regulations on candidates ? like campaign finance rules.
The state also restricts signs to 45 days prior to the election, but highway officials said the state lacks authority to enforce the law. The county already requires property owners to remove signs seven days after a general election and forbids them in public right-of-ways.
“We?re on firm legal ground,” said county spokeswoman Ellen Kobler.
Several residents testified against the bill at the council?s work session last week, including Pikesville resident Noel Levy, who distributed a list of eight jurisdictions where sign limits were challenged and struck down.
But resident Mike Pierce said he supported Kamenetz?s bill, even with the unsuccessful measures.
“When someone puts up 10 signs in their years for the same candidate, it becomes clutter,” Pierce said. “It becomes unnecessary.”
