Law governing roadside memorials in N.H. House

By ARCHIE MOUNTAIN
CONCORD — An act relative to removal of roadside memorials in New Hampshire is expected to go to the floor of the New Hampshire House of Representatives during the first week of February.

The legislation is sponsored by Representative Daniel Eaton, a Stoddard Democrat and has the support of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

The bill requires the Department of Transportation to remove roadside memorials after a period of 90 days, according to an analysis of the proposed legislation.

Rep. Eaton’s bill would amend RSA 236 after Section 89 with the following new section:

“A roadside memorial may be erected within a right-of-way or area adjacent to any primary or secondary highway and may be maintained for a period of 90 days. The department shall remove any such memorial after the expiration of 90 days.”

The date this act would take effect is 60 days after its passage. First, however, it must be approved by both the New Hampshire House and Senate and then signed by Gov. Chris Sununu.

The Legislative Budget Assistant has determined that this legislation, as introduced, has a total fiscal impact of less than $10,000 in each of the fiscal years 2019 through 2011.

“The Department of Transportation is fully in support of this legislation and recognizes there are a lot of highway hazards out there,” Eaton commented.

“The DOT is looking forward to having the ability to do what it is required to dowithout taking the brunt of flack from families,” Eaton stated. “This will make it easier for DOT employees to enforce the existing law.”

This should not be controversial, Eaton noted.

Grief is a very personal thing and everyone deals with it in different ways, Eaton said.

“Having a memorial may give those who are left behind some comfort but they likely don’t realize they could be causing grief and pain for others. Then they would see the memorial in a different fashion,” Eaton suggested.