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Governor Cooper has vetoed the bill saying: “Protecting North Carolina’s beauty should be a top priority, but this legislation allows tree cutting and destruction of native plants around billboards. In February, I signed Executive Order 305, which sets comprehensive goals for restoring and protecting natural areas, prioritizing native plants, and planting one million trees. North Carolina’s scenic landscapes are one of the reasons why our state just broke records with our tourism economy, and why we have one of the most beautiful places in the world to live. Therefore, I veto the bill.”
The bill could:
- Remove the protections for native redbud trees from existing law.
- Increase the total area billboard companies can clear along major roads, from 350 to 500 feet.
- Increase the area they can clear without a permit by 50%, from 200 to 300 feet.
- Make it harder for the Department of Transportation to deny billboard relocations.
- Prioritize billboards which distract drivers, and are a safety issue. Distracted driving accounts for 78% of annual fatal car crashes. While not all distracted driving is caused by billboards, a study shows billboards can lead to thousands of more deaths per year.
- Undermine the view of stakeholders interested in the preservation of North Carolina’s natural resources and beauty as they were shut out of the negotiations for this “compromise.” Further, any agreement came from the previous DOT Secretary and not the current one.
- Remove hundreds, if not thousands of trees, with little to no benefit to the public.
