I.
REGULATION OF BILLBOARD ADVERT I SI-Ng
The undersigned, representing a few of the civic and welfare ^ organizations that have taken action in favor of House 1548, designee, to make more effective the law for regulation of bill-board advertising, believe we express the great popular desire for this legislation, not only by the membership of the bodies for which we are authorized to speak and many others represented at the hearing on the bill, but by the citizens of Massachusetts generally.
Since the people in 1S18 ratified the constitutional amendment authorizing legal restriction of bi 11-boards, ;by._.t]he largest ma-jority given any cf the amendments then submitted, tdiby~h'ave’ seen the bill-boards in this state, instead of being restricted in either size or number, grow steadily larger and more numerous. They have seen the law, to which the state Republican platform of 1920 pointed with pride and which purports to give towns and cities the right to supplement state regulations with "further" local regulations not inconsistent therewith, practically nullified by a provision heretofore foreign to Massachusetts law, "subject to the approval of the Division", which this bill proposes to strike out.
This phrase, if allowed to stand, would become a dangerous precedent. It gives to a state commission, or its agent, an absolute veto power over local by-laws duly passed by a town meeting, even if bo' a unanimous vote; and this veto power is not given as a protection against by-laws inconsistent with the constitution, or "with state enactments, for such protection rests with the lav; officers of the state; but it is a purely arbitrary power.
Yet the Massachusetts Highwaj1- Division has not hesitated to exercise it to defeat many efforts of towns to make local billboard regulations; and one or more of its members wish tn
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to exercise it.
It is of course impossible for the Division of Highways to inform themselves of the details of local conditions throughout h-v. State, and the actual judgment and veto power on town by-laws - " + be exercised by a chief of division or inspector.	mu.st
We respectfully submit that this innovation in the law of 1920 is an unnecessary infringement of the fundamental p>rirc’ of local self government in Massachusetts. The amendment tir ^le in House 1548 seeks to have this anomaly in the law removed °®°fRc^ the right of the municipalities to make local regulations’ ,a^ boards put upon the same basis as that to make other local101' , . nances consistent with the general laws, such, for eXRm \ ' or^' building regulations.	--'‘P	-o,	as