Paul Crawley

ATLANTA — It’s one of the oldest battles in Georgia politics: billboards versus trees.

When it flared up again on the State House floor Thursday, Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) said it was like “Groundhog Day” or “Night of the Living Dead.”

With over 9,000 billboards in Georgia, the industry wants to re-write state law about how many and what type of trees they can cut back on public right-of-way when they block the view.

To sweeten the deal, they’ve thrown in higher payments, more replanting and lower height restrictions.

During a two-hour debate, supporters said the main argument is about the thousands of jobs they create.

“This is a plan to replant trees; what’s the plan to replace the lost jobs if this measure fails?” asked Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming).

Opponents criticized the bill as an environmentally damaging government bailout for outdated eyesores.

“If you and your grandchildren and your children in some cases, my case grandchildren, want to read more signs that say ‘We Bare All’, go ahead and vote for this bill,” replied Rep. Richard Smith (R-Columbus).

When the smoke cleared, the House approved the new billboard bill with a 98 to 69 vote.

“We’re ecstatic to finally get our bill passed in the House,” said Ray Moyers, President of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia. “It’s been a struggle for many years.”

“We are of course disappointed,” said Mary Lovings of the GardenClub of Georgia. “We’ve been fighting this for 83 years; we’ll continue to fight.”

The battle isn’t over yet.

The House will reconsider its vote on Monday and if it confirms Thursday’s vote, the bill moves on to the State Senate.

But for now, billboards are ahead at halftime.