00             SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 127(STA) am S                                                          
01 "An Act relating to roadside memorials within the right-of-way of a state highway."                                     
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 19.25 is amended by adding new sections to read:                                                  
04                      Article 4.  Roadside Memorials.                                                                  
05            Sec. 19.25.260.  Roadside memorials permitted.  (a)  Notwithstanding                                       
06       AS 19.25.090, 19.25.105, and 19.25.200, a person may, for a period of not more than                               
07       two years, place in the right-of-way but outside of the traveled way of a state highway                           
08       a temporary memorial for a decedent who died as a result of a traffic accident, or other                          
09       incident in the right-of-way, at or reasonably near the site where the memorial is                                
10       located.                                                                                                          
11            (b)  A memorial must not interfere with the use of the highway, with other uses                              
12       of the right-of-way, with the visibility of directional and other official signs and                              
13       notices, or with highway safety, construction, or maintenance.                                                    
14            (c)  The person who places a memorial in the right-of-way of a state highway                                 
15       shall                                                                                                             

01                 (1)  post the person's contact information on the memorial;                                             
02                 (2)  inform the department of the location within seven days of                                         
03       placement of the memorial; and                                                                                    
04                 (3)  provide the person's contact information to the department.                                        
05            (d)  A person may not place a political or commercial message on a memorial.                                 
06            (e)  A person may not place reflective material or another item on a memorial                                
07       if that material or item would be distracting to drivers and other users of the right-of-                         
08       way.                                                                                                              
09            (f)  The state is not liable for damage to, or damage or injury resulting from the                           
10       presence of, a memorial in the right-of-way of a state highway.                                                   
11            (g)  In this section, "memorial" means decorations, flags, flowers, and other                                
12       lightweight objects or ornamentation commonly used at funerals or at gravesides as a                              
13       tribute to a decedent.                                                                                            
14            Sec. 19.25.270.  Relocation or removal of memorial.  (a)  If, incidental to the                            
15       construction or maintenance of a state highway, the department determines that a                                  
16       memorial authorized by AS 19.25.260 must be changed, relocated, or removed, the                                   
17       person who placed the memorial within the right-of-way shall change, relocate, or                                 
18       remove the memorial at no expense to the state within a reasonable time set by the                                
19       department.  If the owner does not change, relocate, or remove a memorial within the                              
20       time set by the department, the memorial is an unauthorized encroachment and subject                              
21       to the provisions of AS 19.25.230 - 19.25.250.                                                                    
22            (b)  If a memorial in the right-of-way of a state highway does not comply with                               
23       the requirements of AS 19.25.260, the memorial is an unauthorized encroachment.                                   
24       The department may require removal of the encroachment in the manner provided in                                  
25       AS 19.25.230 - 19.25.250.