State Legislature Approves Bill Beneficial to the Sign Industry
On February 18, 2014, the Wisconsin Legislature unanimously approved a bill that exempts sign companies from hiring licensed contractors to install and maintain signs and light fixtures. In another example of how a coalition of forces can positively impact the sign industry, ISA’s Manager of State and Local Government Affairs James Carpentier worked with the legislature along with Christopher Ruditys, executive director of Wisconsin Sign Association, Roger Osterman of RLO Signs and a coalition of other organizations to get this new bill passed. A post by Osterman on LinkedIn says it all: “Without this bill many Wisconsin sign companies would be out of business. We counted greatly on James’ experience to get this done right. It took over a year but James stayed on top of it for us to the end.”
The bill exempts sign companies from requiring licensed electrical contractors to install and maintain signs and lighting fixtures. Although last year state officials agreed to exempt sign companies from the law that was scheduled to become effective on April 1, 2014, the language was not clear and could have easily had different interpretations by another administration. A copy of the legislation is available here.
ISA, WSA and the coalition have been working over the past 10 months with elected officials to amend this statute so it clearly exempts not only signs from this law, but also the repair of light fixtures. The following coalitions also supported the bill: the Apartment Owner and Managers Association, Building Owners and Managers Association, Southeast Wisconsin International Facility Management Association, International Council of Shopping Centers, Institute of Real Estate Management-Milwaukee and Madison, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association and the Commercial Real Estate Association.
For more information, please contact James Carpentier.
