Section 21.198 - Credit for Acquired Commercial Sign(a) A commercial sign that has been timely removed from a department construction project site may be erected in compliance under § 21.199 of this subchapter (relating to Permit Issued with Credit for Acquired Commercial Sign) and § 21.200 of this subchapter (relating to Acquired Commercial Sign within Certified Cities) if the sign is legally erected and maintained and will be within the highway right of way as a result of a highway construction project or, under exceptional circumstances as determined by the executive director or the executive director's deputy if the sign is legally erected and maintained and the relocation will further the intended purposes of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 U.S.C. §§ 131, 136, 319). (1) To establish timely removal, the permit holder must do the following:(A) Verify ownership of the commercial sign structure. If the sign structure is not the property of the fee owner, verify ownership of the sign structure by providing a Disclaimer of Interest signed by the fee owner, or a copy of the permit holder's lease or easement that states all ownership in the structure is vested in the permit holder;(B) Negotiate for the sale of and convey the commercial sign structure to the State of Texas prior to the date of a special commissioners' hearing in a proceeding brought to acquire the commercial sign through eminent domain, in exchange for a purchase price agreed to by the permit holder and the department, minus a retention/salvage value;(C) Agree in the conveyance document to retain possession of and title to the commercial sign structure;(D) Agree in the conveyance document to remove the commercial sign structure by the deadline provided by the department in a Notice to Vacate;(E) Not later than the deadline provided in the Notice to Vacate remove the part of the commercial sign structure that is above ground and fill to ground level all holes in the ground caused by the sign removal; and(F) Not later than 180 days after the date of the sign's removal provide the documentation required by this section in the form prescribed by the department by submitting it electronically through the department's website, www.txdot.gov.(2) In the event the permit holder fails to retain and remove the commercial sign structure within the time prescribed in the Notice to Vacate, the permit holder will not be eligible for an acquired credit.(b) A sign is eligible for a credit only if the structure has remained in its present location from the time the owner received notice of eminent domain proceedings until the above-ground portion of the structure is removed entirely from the property pursuant to the Notice to Vacate or earlier upon written approval by the department. A sign that is moved to the acquired parcel's remainder is not eligible for an acquired sign credit.(c) The department will issue a credit under this section only if all requirements of this section are satisfied. A credit expires on the fourth anniversary of the date that the permit holder satisfies the requirements of subsection (a)(1)(E) of this section.(d) The holder of a credit issued under this section may transfer the credit. To transfer the credit, the transferee must file an electronic transfer application through the department's website, www.txdot.gov. A transferred credit retains the original credit expiration date.43 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.198
The provisions of this §21.198 adopted to be effective July 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 2418; amended to be effective April 19, 2012, 37 TexReg 2687; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 10, March 9, 2018, TexReg 1456, eff. 3/14/2018; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 33, August 16, 2024, TexReg 6265, eff. 9/1/2024