Religious Billboards Said To Violate Highway Beautification Act

Last Saturday's Bowling Green, Kentucky Daily News reports on the lawsuit originally filed in 2008 by the Kentucky Department of Transportation against farmer Jimmy Harston over billboards with religious messages that Harston has erected on private property next to Interstate 65. Carrying messages such as "Jesus Died for Our Sins", the signs sit on property that Harston leases from landowners. However the federal Highway Beautification Act (23 USC Sec. 131) provides for a reduction of federal highway funds to states that do not effectively control outdoor advertising signs along Interstate highways. Harston says his signs are not for profit and should not be covered by the ban. However he lost the lawsuit against him in 2008, and the decision is currently on appeal. A state legislator has proposed a bill to exempt Harston's billboards from the federal restriction.