In a big win for noncommercial outdoor speakers and a loss for
LBJ enthusiasts, the Sixth Circuit issued a
major First Amendment decision striking down Tennessee's
Billboard Regulation and Control Act. Judge Batchelder's
unanimous opinion (Donald and Cole joining) in
Thomas v. Bright held that the law's on/off-premises
distinction represents an unconstitutional content-based abridgment
of speech that cannot survive strict scrutiny.
The Tennessee Billboard Act, enacted in 1972 to comply with the
Federal Highway Beautification Act (and reap the road-building
rewards of "cooperative federalism"), required all
signage within 600 feet of a public roadway to be authorized under
a Tennessee Department of Transportation permit. The Act provided
an exception—common in billboard law—for
"on-premises" signs, which allowed signage
"advertising activities conducted on the property on which
[the sign] is located" to be posted permit-free.
