RELATING TO OUTDOOR SIGNAGE.

SB2353

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2353

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

Relating
to outdoor Signage
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
Chapter 445, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:

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"
�445-
�
Digital outdoor signage devices; allowed display.
�
(a)
�

Notwithstanding any law to
the contrary, display of outdoor advertising devices, including digital outdoor
signage devices, shall be allowed within the Waikiki area of Oahu, the
boundaries of which are delineated in the land use ordinance as amended,
establishing the "Waikiki Special District".

����
(b)
�

No later than
, each county
with a population of five hundred thousand or more
shall
adopt
ordinances necessary
to
implement this section.

����
(c)
�

For the purposes of this
section, "digital outdoor signage device" means any o
utdoor
advertising device
displaying a message that
may be changed by electronic processes or designed to attract attention by the
inclusion of a flashing, changing, revolving, or flickering light source or
change in light intensity.
�
"Digital
outdoor signage device" includes signs with electronically generated or
controlled images, such as electronic programmable message signs, digital
signs, and plasma or light-emitting diode (LED) signs
.
"

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SECTION

2
.
�
Section
445-112, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
�445-112
�

Where and when permitted.
�
No
person shall erect, maintain, or use a billboard or display any outdoor
advertising device, except as provided in this section:

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(1)
�
The display of official notices and
signs, posted by order of any court or public office, or posted by any public
officer in the performance of a public duty, or posted by any person required
to do so by any law or rule having the force of law;

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(2)
�
Any outdoor advertising device
announcing a meeting or series of meetings is not prohibited by this section if
displayed on the premises where the meeting or series of meetings will be or is
being held.
�
Meeting, as used in this
section, includes all meetings regardless of whether open to the public or
conducted for profit and includes but is not limited to sports events,
conventions, fairs, rallies, plays, lectures, concerts, motion pictures,
dances, and religious services;

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(3)
�
Any outdoor advertising device
indicating that the building or premises on which it is displayed is the
residence, office, or place of business, commercial or otherwise, of any
individual, partnership, joint venture, association, club, or corporation, and
stating the nature of the business;

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(4)
�
Any outdoor advertising device that
advertises property or services that may be bought, rented, sold, or otherwise
traded in on the premises or in the building on which the outdoor advertising
device is displayed;

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(5)
�
The offering for sale of merchandise
bearing incidental advertising, including books, magazines, and newspapers, in
any store, newsstand, vending machine, rack, or other place where such
merchandise is regularly sold;

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(6)
�
Any outdoor advertising device offering
any land, building, or part of a building for sale or rent, if displayed on the
property so offered or on the building so offered;

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(7)
�
Any outdoor advertising device carried
by persons or placed upon vehicles used for the transportation of persons or
goods, except as provided under section 445‑112.5, relating to vehicular
advertising devices;

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(8)
�
Any outdoor advertising device warning
the public of dangerous conditions that they may encounter in nearby sections
of streets, roads, paths, public places, power lines, gas and water mains, or
other public utilities;

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(9)
�
Signs serving no commercial purpose
that indicate places of natural beauty, or of historical or cultural interest
and that are made according to designs approved by the department of business,
economic development, and tourism;

���
(10)
�
Any outdoor advertising device or
billboard erected, placed, or maintained upon a state office building, if
erected, placed, or maintained by authority of a state agency, department, or
officer for the sole purpose of announcing cultural or educational events
within the State, and if the design and location thereof has been approved by
the department of business, economic development, and tourism;

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(11)
�
Signs urging voters to vote for or
against any person or issue, may be erected, maintained, and used, except where
contrary to or prohibited by law;

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(12)
�
Signs stating that a residence that is
offered for sale, lease, or rent is open for inspection at the actual time the
sign is displayed and showing the route to the residence; provided that the
sign contains no words or designs other than the words "Open House",
the address of the residence, the name of the person or agency responsible for
the sale, and an arrow or other directional symbol and is removed during such
time as the residence is not open for inspection;

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(13)
�
The erection, maintenance, and use of
billboards if the billboard is used solely for outdoor advertising devices not
prohibited by this section;

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(14)
�
The continued display and maintenance
of outdoor advertising devices actually displayed on July 8, 1965, in
accordance with all laws and ordinances immediately theretofore in effect;

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(15)
�
The continued maintenance of any
billboard actually maintained on July 8, 1965, and the display thereon of the
same or new advertising devices, all in accordance with all laws and ordinances
in effect immediately prior to July 9, 1965;

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(16)
�
Any outdoor advertising device,
displayed with the authorization of the University of Hawaii, on any scoreboard
of any stadium owned by the university.
�

An outdoor advertising device displayed under this paragraph shall be on
the front of the scoreboard and face the interior of the stadium;

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(17)
�
Any temporary outdoor advertising
device attached to or supported by the structure of any stadium owned by the
University of Hawaii, located within and facing the interior of the stadium,
and authorized to be displayed by the university.
�
For the purpose of this paragraph,
"temporary" means displayed for a short period before the official
start of organized athletic competition, during the organized athletic
competition, and for a short period after the official end of the organized
athletic competition;

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(18)
�
Any outdoor advertising device,
displayed with the authorization of the stadium authority[
, on
]
:

���������
(A)
�
On
any scoreboard of any stadium
operated by the stadium authority[
.
�

An
]
; provided that an
outdoor advertising device displayed
under this [
paragraph
]
subparagraph
shall be on the front of the
scoreboard and face the interior of the stadium; [
and
]
or

���������
(B)
�
In the stadium development district;
provided that for the purposes of this subparagraph, "outdoor advertising
device" includes "digital outdoor signage device", as the term
is defined in section 445- ;

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(19)
�
Any outdoor advertising device,
displayed with the authorization of the city and county of Honolulu, on the
scoreboard of the Waipio peninsula soccer stadium.
�
The outdoor advertising device shall be:

���������
(A)
�
Attached to the bottom of the
scoreboard;

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(B)
�
No longer than the width of the
scoreboard; and

���������
(C)
�
No higher than twenty-five per cent of
the scoreboard height.

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The
scoreboard shall be no larger than twenty-eight feet by ten feet.
�
Any outdoor advertising device displayed
pursuant to this paragraph shall be on the front of the scoreboard and face the
interior of the stadium; provided that the outdoor advertising device shall not
be visible from any thoroughfare[
.
]
; and

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(20)
�
Any
outdoor advertising device, including digital outdoor signage devices,
displayed pursuant to permission pursuant to section 445- .
"

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SECTION

3
.
�
Section
445-113, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

����
"
�445-113
�

Regulation by counties.
�

Except for outdoor advertising devices authorized under section
445-112(16) and (17), the several counties may adopt ordinances regulating
billboards and outdoor advertising devices not prohibited by [
sections
445-111 to 445-121.
]
this part.
�

The ordinances may:

����
(1)
�
Classify billboards and outdoor
advertising devices in the classes set forth in section 445-112, or in any
other reasonable manner of classification;

����
(2)
�
Regulate the size, manner of
construction, color, illumination, location, and appearance of any class of
billboard or outdoor advertising device;

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(3)
�
Prohibit the erection or maintenance of
any type of billboard or the displaying of any outdoor advertising device in
particular parts, or in all parts, of the county; provided that the prohibition
shall not apply to any official notice or sign described in section 445-112(1);
and provided further that, unless a county ordinance specifies otherwise, the
prohibition shall extend to billboards or outdoor advertising devices located
in the airspace or waters beyond the boundaries of the county that are visible from
any public highway, park, or other public place located within the county;

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(4)
�
Control and license the business of
making, erecting, posting, renting, and maintaining outdoor advertising devices
and billboards as a business providing advertising for others, and require each
person engaging in such business to obtain an annual license, the fee for which
shall not exceed $100.
�
The license shall
be conditioned upon the maintenance of all outdoor advertising devices and
billboards in a safe state, and the observance of [
sections 445-111 to 445‑121
]

this part
and all applicable ordinances and shall be revocable by the
licensing authority upon breach of such condition;

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(5)
�
Require that no person, whether
licensed under paragraph (4) or not, shall erect or maintain any billboard
unless it is licensed by a permit issued by the county, the issuance of which
permit shall be conditioned upon compliance with this chapter and all
applicable ordinances and the payment to the county of an annual fee not to
exceed $25 per billboard; and

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(6)
�
Provide for such other regulation of
billboards and outdoor advertising devices as will promote the public health,
welfare, safety, and convenience; encourage and promote the tourist and visitor
trade; conserve and develop the natural beauty of the State, as well as objects
and places of historic and cultural interest; foster sightliness and physical
good order; and promote the purposes and provisions of [
sections 445‑111
to 445-121.
]
this part.
"

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SECTION
4.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed
and stricken.
�
New statutory material is
underscored.

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SECTION
5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Outdoor Advertising; Digital
Outdoor Signage Devices
; Waikiki Special District
; Ordinance; Stadium Development District; Stadium
Authority

Description:

Requires the
display of outdoor advertising devices, including digital outdoor signage
devices, to be allowed within the Waikiki Special District and requires the
adoption of necessary county ordinances.
�

Allows the display of
outdoor advertising devices, including
digital outdoor signage devices,
with
in
the
Stadium Development District with the
authorization of the Stadium Authority
.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.