PRINTER'S NO. 1536
No. 1213 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY STOUT, MADIGAN, KUKOVICH, COSTA, MELLOW, BELAN,
BOSCOLA, MUSTO, KITCHEN AND SCHWARTZ, NOVEMBER 29, 1999
REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION, NOVEMBER 29, 1999
AN ACT
1 Authorizing the establishment of the Pennsylvania Scenic Byways
2 System; imposing certain duties on the Department of
3 Community and Economic Development and on the Department of
4 Transportation; establishing an advisory committee; and
5 making an appropriation.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Short title.
9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Scenic Byways
10 Act.
11 Section 2. Definitions.
12 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
13 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
14 context clearly indicates otherwise:
15 "Department." The Department of Community and Economic
16 Development of the Commonwealth.
17 "PennDOT." The Department of Transportation of the
18 Commonwealth.
19 "Scenic byway." A road which runs through wild, pastoral,
1 historic or otherwise scenic countryside and which is designated
2 as such under this act.
3 Section 3. Program.
4 The Pennsylvania Scenic Byways System is hereby established
5 and shall be jointly administered by the department and PennDOT.
6 Section 4. Advisory committee.
7 (a) Establishment.--An advisory committee is hereby
8 established which shall consist of:
9 (1) The Secretary of Community and Economic Development
10 or designee.
11 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or designee.
12 (3) The chairman and minority chairman of the
13 Transportation Committee of the Senate or their designees.
14 (4) The chairman and minority chairman of the
15 Transportation Committee of the House of Representatives or
16 their designees.
17 (5) A representative of a nonprofit organization related
18 to the conservation and promotion of scenic byways, who shall
19 be appointed by the Governor.
20 (6) Five members representing organizations concerned
21 with preservation, the motoring public, tourism development
22 and the public at large who shall be appointed by the
23 Governor.
24 (b) Duties.--The advisory committee shall advise the
25 department and make recommendations including, but not limited
26 to, operation and management of the program, standards for signs
27 and identification, measures for safety and procedures for
28 designations.
29 Section 5. Study.
30 The department and PennDOT shall jointly study and conduct
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1 public hearings if necessary on the roads of this Commonwealth
2 to determine if these roads meet the criteria established under
3 this act for a scenic byway designation.
4 Section 6. Proposals.
5 The department shall, from time to time, submit proposals to
6 the Governor and to the General Assembly setting forth roads in
7 this Commonwealth to which the "scenic byway" designation might
8 appropriately be affixed by an act of the General Assembly.
9 These scenic byways shall become part of the Pennsylvania Scenic
10 Byways System.
11 Section 7. Criteria.
12 To be designated as a scenic byway, a road shall:
13 (1) Be recommended for the designation by the
14 department.
15 (2) Be a road which is free of impediments, still
16 largely primitive and undeveloped, and contains little
17 commerce on either side of the road.
18 (3) Be of some pastoral, wilderness or historic value to
19 this Commonwealth.
20 (4) Possess one or more of the following outstanding
21 intrinsic qualities: scenic, cultural, historical,
22 archaeological, recreational or natural.
23 Section 8. Markers.
24 PennDOT shall erect uniform and aesthetically pleasant signs
25 on a scenic byway to inform passing motorists of its designated
26 status.
27 Section 9. Maintenance.
28 (a) Local planning.--The department shall make small
29 community planning grants available to local governments in
30 which scenic byways are located. These grants shall be used to
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1 enhance local planning, zoning and other measures to protect the
2 preservation of scenic byways.
3 (b) Improvements.--Where repairs to scenic byways or rights-
4 of-way contiguous with them are needed, PennDOT shall make them.
5 (c) Corridor management plan.--A corridor management plan
6 shall be developed with community involvement to provide for the
7 conservation and enhancement of the roadway as well as tourism
8 and economic development. The plan shall document the goals,
9 strategies and responsibilities for protecting a scenic byway's
10 outstanding qualities and encouraging economic benefits.
11 (d) Billboards prohibited.--Billboards are prohibited on any
12 scenic byway that is a Federal-aid primary or Interstate
13 highway. This subsection does not apply to billboards erected
14 prior to the effective date of this act.
15 Section 10. Promotion.
16 PennDOT shall include the Pennsylvania Scenic Byways System
17 on its maps and in other tourist and travel promotional
18 material, in coordination with the department.
19 Section 11. Appropriation.
20 The sum of $400,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary,
21 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Transportation, for
22 the fiscal year July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000, for the erection
23 of scenic byway markers.
24 Section 12. Effective date.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
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