1. (A) The commission shall issue permits for the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs coming within the exceptions contained in items (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (A) of Section 57-25-140, consistent with the safety and welfare of the traveling public necessary to carry out the policy of the State declared in this article and consistent with the national standards promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation or other appropriate federal official pursuant to Title 23, United States Code.

   The commission also shall promulgate regulations governing the issuance of the permits and standards for size, spacing, and lighting of the signs and their messages.

2. (B) The Department of Transportation shall issue permits for all signs on location on November 3, 1971, except those signs erected pursuant to items (1), (2), (3), (5), and (6) of subsection (A) of Section 57-25-140. It also shall issue permits for the erection and maintenance of additional outdoor advertising signs coming within the exceptions contained within items (4), (7), and (8) of subsection (A) of Section 57-25-140. Sign owners must be assessed the following fees:

   1. (1) the appropriate annual fee plus an initial nonrefundable permit application fee of one hundred dollars, except that the nonrefundable permit application fee shall be waived for South Carolina farmers advertising agricultural products produced on land that they farm which are for sale to the public and if the signs do not exceed thirty-two square feet;
   2. (2) an annual fee of twenty dollars if the advertising area does not exceed three hundred fifty square feet; and

   3. (3) an annual fee of thirty dollars if the advertising area exceeds three hundred fifty square feet.

      The permit fees must be allocated first for administrative costs incurred by the department in maintaining the outdoor advertising program.

      The permit number must be displayed prominently on the sign.

3. (C) Permits are for the calendar year, must be assigned a permanent number, and must be renewed annually upon payment of the fee for the new year without the filing of a new application. Fees must not be prorated for a portion of the year. Only one permit is required for a double-faced, back-to-back, or V-type sign. Advertising copy may be changed without the payment of an additional fee. No permit is required before January 1, 1973. Failure to pay a renewal fee within ninety days of the date of the first bill for the fee cancels the permit and makes the sign illegal.
4. (D) The commission shall promulgate regulations governing the issuance of permits which must include mandatory maintenance to ensure that all signs are always in a good state of repair. Signs not in a good state of repair are illegal.
5. (E) The cost of permits or their renewals required under the provisions of this article are in addition to ad valorem taxes.
6. (F) No permit application may be approved without written permission of the owner or other person in lawful possession of the site designated as the location of the sign in the application.

7. (G) Permits for the following signs are void:

   1. (1) conforming sign which is removed voluntarily for more than thirty days;
   2. (2) conforming sign which is removed, dismantled, or destroyed by an act of God or vandalism for more than sixty days;
   3. (3) nonconforming sign which is removed voluntarily or removed, dismantled, or destroyed by an act of God or vandalism.

8. (H) National Historic Landmark Section 501(C)(3) properties located along South Carolina highways and properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Department of the Interior which are located along South Carolina highways are allowed to erect small directional signs no more frequently than one a mile within six miles of such properties.

   The signs shall state the name of the historic property and mileage and comprise no more than twenty letters measuring no more than fifteen inches by thirty-six inches and painted using a single color or a neutral background.

   The South Carolina Department of Transportation shall issue a permit sticker for each sign for an annual fee of fifteen dollars a sign. The department is also authorized to issue regulations as are necessary to implement the permit process and the conditions and restrictions for the proper placement, height, and design as necessary to the efficient administration of this subsection. The department has no responsibility for erecting these permitted signs.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 33-591.3; 1971 (57) 2061; 1990 Act No. 519, Section 1; 1992 Act No. 473,1993 Act No. 164, Part II, Section 106A; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1530; 1994 Act No. 431, Section 2.