Placement of political signs arises in local government committee
INDIANAPOLIS--Political signage, an issue during the 2008 presidential campaign, reappeared Thursday in the House Local Government Committee meeting.
Rep. Craig Fry, D-Mishawaka, said he introduced House Bill 1085 for a friend from Carmel. His friend had been kept from displaying a sign in favor of Gov. Mitch Daniels during the recent gubernatorial campaign.
“His homeowner’s association was trying to limit his freedom of speech,” said Fry.
The bill would prevent a homeowner’s association from restricting the display of signs “advertising a political candidate or party or a ballot item for an election” 90 days before and 10 days after the election. Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, questioned not only if the time before the election was too long but also whether the bill would get in the way of existing local or municipal ordinances that have worked for years.
Pryor said that Indianapolis already has an ordinance regarding political signs and asked for an amendment “so local governments don’t have to change their ordinances.”
Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, the chairman of the committee, questioned whether the bill would apply to high rise apartments. He said that in some situations, residents were kept from placing political signs in the ground because it was space not owned by any resident in particular.
Smith assigned a subcommittee chaired by Pryor to fix some of the details including lowering the number of days prior to the election that a resident can display a sign. The subcommittee will report back on the issue Tuesday.
Smith spoke in favor of increasing freedom of speech.
“I think people ought to have the right to express themselves,” Smith said.
