Campaign Signs Go Missing
by Claire Taylor - The Daily Advertiser (excerpt)

Anyone caught stealing campaign signs can be charged with misdemeanor theft.

But some signs are being removed by officials because they're infringing on public rights of way.

Employees of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development have been removing campaign signs placed illegally in public rights of way, District Engineer Administrator Bill Fontenot said.

A highway right of way is the land the highway department owns or has servitude over to build and maintain roadways.

Generally, the right of way in rural areas is from fence line to fence line, Fontenot said. In cities, utility poles are a good guide, he said.

If placed close to roads and on corners, campaign signs might present safety hazards to motorists by interfering with lines of sight, Fontenot said. They also get caught in mowers, endangering workers, he said.

Campaign signs along city and parish roadsides also may be removed.

"If it's on the right of way they're treated the same as other illegal stick signs in the right of way," Womack said. "They're only allowed to be placed on private property."