Hawaii Bill to Allow Digital Signs at New Stadium Expires Without Action

Hawaii lawmakers declined to create an exception to the state’s 99-year-old roadside billboard ban when the legislative session ended in May 2026 without action on bill SB3197. The proposal would have allowed digital signs inside the new Aloha Stadium Entertainment District. Stadium developers and Democratic legislators introduced the measure earlier in 2026.

State Senator Glenn Wakai sponsored SB3197. Stadium manager Ryan Andrews said the signs were intended to create an immersive brand experience for visitors. Opponents said the screens would still be visible to passing drivers.

Hawaii enacted the nation’s first ban on roadside billboards in 1927. The Honolulu Outdoor Circle led the campaign. Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959. Alaska enacted a territorial billboard ban in 1949.

Voters rejected a 1997 ballot measure that would have allowed tourism-related highway signs. ” The ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit in 2018 after state workers removed political campaign signs from roadsides. Casey Reynolds, ACLU of Alaska spokesperson, argued the state was unconstitutionally restricting political speech.

Vermont eliminated billboards in 1968. An estimated 4,500 billboards lined the state’s roadways before the ban. Then-Governor Philip H. Hoff supported the measure. A South Burlington representative’s proposal required removal of all existing signs within five years.

The final commercial billboards came down in late 1976. Vermont passed additional environmental regulations in 1970 to protect farmlands, forests, and the Green Mountains. Maine enacted its billboard ban in 1977.

The law took effect in 1978. Maine was the first state on the East Coast to eliminate off-premises advertising signs. State Representative Marion Fuller Brown and Governor James B. Longley supported the ban.