Bill
HB 1054
ND DOT may enter sponsorship deals with private groups to provide highway right‑of‑way services (litter control, rest‑area upkeep) and post acknowledgement signs.
Status: Introduced November 12, 2024. Read first time March 7, 2025. Reported by Transportation Committee. Final status (per supplied summary): Second reading — failed to pass (yeas 3, nays 90).
Purpose
- To authorize the Director of Transportation to enter into sponsorship agreements with private persons or entities to provide highway‑related services within highway right‑of‑way and to allow acknowledgement signage for those sponsors.
Key provisions
- New statute added to North Dakota Century Code: 24‑01‑12.4 (Sponsorship agreements for highway right‑of‑way services).
- Authorization: The Director may enter into sponsorship agreements with any person to provide highway‑related services within highway right‑of‑way. Examples explicitly listed include litter control and rest area maintenance; language also covers “other services.”
- Acknowledgement signs: A sponsor that provides services may be acknowledged by an acknowledgement sign located within the highway right‑of‑way.
- Definition: An “acknowledgement sign” is a sign intended only to inform the public that a highway‑related service has been sponsored by a person (i.e., not a commercial advertising sign).
- Spacing: Acknowledgement signs facing the same direction may not be placed less than one mile (1.61 km) apart.
- Standards: Any acknowledgement sign must meet all requirements of the adopted Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
- Discretionary authority: The director’s power to enter agreements is permissive (“may”), not mandatory.
Who would be affected
- North Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT): gains authority to negotiate and manage sponsorship agreements and to permit acknowledgement signage in rights‑of‑way.
- Private sponsors (businesses, nonprofit groups, individuals): may be eligible to provide services (e.g., litter pickup, rest area upkeep) in exchange for public acknowledgement via signage.
- Motorists and local communities: could see increased maintenance of some roadside facilities and placement of sponsor acknowledgement signs.
- Existing maintenance contractors and local governments: could be affected if sponsorships change the mix of service providers or service funding.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Fiscal: The bill does not specify funding or compensation terms. Sponsorships could reduce DOT maintenance costs if private sponsors perform services at no cost or subsidized cost; conversely, DOT may incur administrative or oversight costs.
- Safety and traffic regulation: Requiring MUTCD compliance and minimum spacing addresses safety and visual clutter concerns; local impacts will depend on implementation details.
- Legal/regulatory: Would interact with existing sign laws, right‑of‑way rules, and procurement/contracting procedures; terms of sponsorship agreements (liability, maintenance standards, termination) would be set by DOT practice or contract.
Procedural/history notes
- Bill text creates a stand‑alone statutory section (24‑01‑12.4).
- Introduced at the request of the Department of Transportation and referred to the Transportation Committee.
- Companion bills listed: SB 1373 and SB 439.
- Primary sponsors listed in the supplied materials: Representatives Pilkington, Nakamura and Hudson; Rep. Dave Vella appears as a sponsor/name associated in documents. (Sponsorship lists may vary by chamber and version.)
Limitations
- The bill text provides general authority and basic sign rules but leaves detailed contract, procurement, liability, and enforcement terms to implementing agreements and DOT procedures. No explicit fiscal estimate or enforcement mechanism is included in the statutory text.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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